Posted on 10/26/2009 10:23:42 AM PDT by big black dog
My colleague Boris Shor has performed some analysis (jointly with Nolan McCarty) on the ideological positions of state legislators. The estimates are based on state legislative voting, which might make you wonder how you could possibly compare legislators in one state with those in another. The trick is that some state representatives (for example, Barack Obama) also end up in Congress. There are enough of these overlap cases that you can put legislators from all 50 states on a common scale.
Boris and Nolan most recently applied their method to compare Deirdre Scozzofava, a state assemblywoman running on the Republican ticket in special election in New York's 23rd congressoinal district. Boris writes:
Scozzafava has been assailed from the right for being far too liberal. For example, the libertarian Wall Street Journal this morning wrote, "Democrats want to portray this race as a familiar moderate-conservative GOP split, but the real issue is why Ms. Scozzafava is a Republican at all. She has voted for so many tax increases that the Democrat is attacking her as a tax raiser. She supported the Obama stimulus, and she favors "card check" to make union organizing easier, or at least she did until a recent flip-flop. . ." The conservative National Review writes: "In spite of its having gone for Obama in 2008, the district's history suggests that it is basically conservative; Ms. Scozzafava is basically not. Boy, is she not. . . ."
Actually, though, Boris and Nolan find Scozzafava to be pretty much in the exact center on a national scale:
Her ideological "common space" score is 0.02. These scores, similar but far superior to interest group ratings, put state legislators around the country on the same scale with each other, as well as with members of Congress.
Being in the center nationally puts Scozzafava to the right in New York:
Scozzafava's score puts her in the 58th percentile of her party, which makes her slightly more conservative than the average Republican legislator in Albany, so she's a conservative in her [state] party.
No she isn’t/ she is left even for NY.
Then their data or their conclusions or both are flawed.
“the libertarian Wall Street Journal..”
Libertarian? The Journal? Lost me right there.
There is a vast difference between NYCity and upstate NY. By upstate NY standards, she is so liberal we are shocked she isn’t living in San Francisco. Hoffman represents an upstate NY Republican better than she does.....heck, even the Democrat candidate does. Which is why it’s possible he can win.
Utter BS
any candidate who was on the Board of Planned Parenthood should be defeated,.....
Republican Party, Democratic Party, Indepedent Party, Natural Law Party, Green Party, or Bull Moose Pary
Of course, if you are a far Left Marixst then Dede looks to be in the middle
If you are intellectually honest, you realize she is quite left of Center for this country.
Dede who is Pro abotion, Pro Card Check, Pro tax and spend IS not the middle.
What a load... a ‘Conservative Republican’ isn’t a term that varies from state to state, it implies following a core set of principles. She may be a ‘Republican’ by New York standards but not a (capital C)Conservative Republican.
On balance, she doesn’t even lean right. She is right on a couple of issues but left on most other issues.
No more Bloomberg republicans, even if we do lose the seat.
NY POlitics is pretty screwed up, but, for the most part the citizens fall along NORMAL national lines.
Scuzzywhatshername has been endorse by the DAILY KOS, which makes STALIN look like a MODERATE. Even her DEMOCRAT OPPONENT has called her too LIBERAL.
Dear Ms. Scozzafava:
Thank you for your interest, however,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIiWBPdhPH8
Sincerely,
td
Bunch of total CRAP.
Hoffman has a REAL shot for the reasons you stated, and is one of the exceptions where I would support an independent over an R candidate.
Back in the 1970`s we called the likes of Scozzofava, Giuliani and Romney, Rockefeller Republicans. AKA. liberal Republicans in the mold of Jacob Javits, John Lindsey, George Romney and the original RR, Nelsen "Rocky" Rockefeller himself.
GO Hoffman GO!
I think this will come as news to the folks who work at National Review. Just for starters.
Seems rather inexcusable to me.
According to ACORN and the Daily Kooks.
All such mathematical chicanery in matters of liberty and government is mendacious Bravo Sierra. What matters is what the woman SUPPORTS:
- Abortion-on-demand: the murder of millions of little babies each year
- TAKING AWAY the secret ballot in union elections - Perverting the tens-of-centuries-old definition of marriage to include persistent homosexual adultery
- "Community Organizer" groups like ACORN that take federal dollars to increase politicians' power and abet crimes, including prostitution.
They can punch their calculators all they want; we KNOW this woman is a socialist and liberal, and the people in that district don't support the things she does.
GO DOUG HOFFMAN.
Frankly, I think this is a lie. I worked in NY for many years, and although figures like Rockefeller were on the left of the party, the average Republican representative in the state legislature is NOT a flaming liberal like this woman. There are still some conservative parts of the state—of which this appears to be one. They are simply outnumbered by the downstate liberals, and by minorities in some of the larger cities.
Ingraham and Buchanan discuss the NY23 race (and other races):
Their most notoriously libertarian position in the past has been re: immigration -- i.e. in favor of open borders.
Total bullquacky
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.