Obama or McCain -- Liberal or Conservative?

Let’s get one thing straight: Barack Obama is not the “most liberal member of the US Senate” despite what the National Journal says. And John McCain doesn’t think so either.

John McCain is known to point out that Obama supports the President at least 50 percent of the time. The National Journal disagrees. In its analysis and rating of senators’ votes in 2007, the Journal concluded Obama is the “most liberal member of the Senate.” The GOP jumped on it, sending out press releases to all media. The right-wing bloggers jumped on it too, as further evidence that Obama is just another one of those “tax and spend liberals.”

So, which is it? Is McCain right or is National Journal right? The GOP can’t have it both ways.

Frankly, in my view, neither conclusion is correct.

The ratings are often based on a very subjective analysis of votes cast. For example, in the judgment of editors of the National Journal, Obama’s vote to establish a Senate Office of Public Integrity should be counted as a liberal vote. Who knew? Wouldn’t you think that vote would be neither liberal nor conservative? Could there be anything more deserving of bipartisan support?

What about those ratings of special interest groups. Are they any help? I’m talking about organizations like Americans for Democratic Action, American Civil Liberties Union, National Federation of Independent Business, the Americans for Constitutional Action – to name just a few. Their ratings are so important they appear at the end of every member’s bio in The Almanac of American Politics. These ratings, however, are based on a select list of 10 or 12 votes from among hundreds of votes cast in a single year, and they’re mostly designed to be used as a lobbying tool. Nope, the special interest groups don’t help because typically they use their ratings to polarize the electorate.

I worked in the US Senate for 17 years and I can tell you with confidence that nothing so frustrates the members – all members of both parties – like these arbitrary ratings. Anyone can pick a dozen votes to make a member look “liberal” or “conservative.” I remember well, Barry Goldwater, THE father of the modern conservative movement, and he voted frequently with his more liberal colleagues. Ted Kennedy is well known to support conservative issues; indeed, he worked closely with President Bush to pass education legislation.

Let’s be blunt: Most of the analysis and ratings are not an accurate reflection of the political ideology of a given Senator. You may be able to discern someone leaning one way or another…but it is not possible to gauge who is the “most liberal” or “most conservative” by reading the ratings published today.

All right, but is McCain “liberal” or “conservative?” Conservatives certainly don’t like it when he partners with Democrats like Russ Feingold in writing campaign finance reform legislation. McCain certainly sounds liberal, doesn’t he?

Is Obama liberal or conservative? Liberals don’t like it when he says he wants to bring the best minds into his administration, even Republicans! Obama certainly sounds like a conservative, doesn’t he?

Can political scientists give us an objective answer?

One respected Internet site, Voteview.com, created by political scientists, reports there are nine senators more liberal than Obama, and seven senators more conservative than McCain.

Darn, this is hard. Maybe we should quit trying to peg a member as a “liberal” or “conservative.” Maybe we should quit using those words with pejorative intent, too. Maybe we should look at the totality of the member’s record. Maybe we should listen to the member explain his vote when it’s in question.

Yes, its a little work, but Jefferson and the others never said preserving this republic would be easy. They said it would require each new generation to renew their commitment to think before they vote. Isn’t it time to do some of that?

So when someone says to you, “I’m not voting for Obama because he is the most liberal member of the US Senate,” tell them, “That’s not true; the record doesn’t show that. Find another reason, please, and then we’ll talk.”