National Journal’s Ideological Rankings
See them here.
The 10 Most Liberal Senate Dems Most Conservative Senate GOPers
1. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) 1. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
1. Roland Burris (D-IL) 2. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
1. Ben Cardin (D-MD) 3. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
1. Jack Reed (D-RI) 4. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
1. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) 5. Jim Risch (R-ID)
6. John Kerry (D-MA) 6. John Thune (R-SD)
6. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) 7. John Ensign (R-NV)
8. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) 8. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
9. Chris Dodd (D-CT) 9. Richard Burr (R-NC)
9. Dick Durbin (D-IL) 10. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
The 10 Most Liberal House Dems Most Conservative House GOPers
1. Rush Holt (D-NJ) 1. Trent Franks (R-AZ)
1. Gwen Moore (D-WI) 1. Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
1. John Olver (D-MA) 1. Randy Neugebaurer (R-TX)
1. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) 1. Pete Olson (R-TX)
1. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) 1. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
1. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) 1. Mac Thornberry (R-TX)
1. Mel Watt (D-NC) 7. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
1. Henry Waxman (D-CA) 8. Mike Pence (R-IN)
9. Kathy Castor (D-FL) 9. Steve King (R-IA)
10. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) 9. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
The 10 In The Middle In The Middle Of The House
(Most liberal to Most conserv.) (Most liberal to Most conserv.)
46. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) 213. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
47. Robert Byrd (D-WV) 214. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL)
48. Bob Casey (D-PA) 215. John Adler (D-NJ)
49. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 216. Bill Foster (D-IL)
50. Mark Pryor (D-AR) 217. Michael McMahon (D-NY)
51. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) 218. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)
52. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) 219. John Tanner (D-TN)
53. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) 220. Scott Murphy (D-NY)
54. Jim Webb (D-VA) 221. Tim Holden (D-PA)
55. Russ Feingold (D-WI) 222. Zack Space (D-OH)
Most Liberal House Delegations Most Conservative Delegations
1. MA 1. ID
2. HI 2. KY
3. VT 3. SC
4. CT 4. TX
5. RI 5. GA
For complete results, methodologies and more lists — including the 2 members of the Senate from different parties who have the exact same score — check out the vote rankings at NationalJournal.com.
Update II: Many comments wonder where Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is on our list of most conservative House members. Paul has conservative vote rankings in the economic category (85%) and the social category (73%), but his votes on foreign policy are much more centrist (53% conservative). That makes him the 140th-most conservative member in the House.
I’m surprised Coburn is so far back, and that Feingold is almost exactly in the middle, but other than that the rankings make sense.
I was told by a guy on the Hill that Feinstein is the only senator pulled to the left by his/her constituents- that she’s actually a moderate. I found that interesting, but it explains her support for the president’s decision to send troops to Afghanistan.
