Posted on 10/23/2009 11:48:22 PM PDT by dangus
Who are the the DIABLOs (Democrats In All But Labels Only)? Who are the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only)?
Unfortunately, the American Conservative Union's rankings are pretty useless. In search of being non-partisan and having an even spread of votes, they include many votes which are very lopsided, and so therefore Republicans can fake conservatism without upsetting their media masters and liberal donors. At the same time, a conservative who thinks that a bill is too liberal can get lumped in with all the liberals who thought the bill was too conservative. Combining these two factors, it's impossible to tell true mavericks from the sort of media-created mavericks who can be counted on to stab conservatives in the back.
Therefore, I went hunting for close votes and votes where rigid party discipline was desperately needed. I came up with 16, excluding immigration. Each bad vote earned one demerit. Because that issue has faced so many subtleties, I relied on the excellent work of NumbersUSA to grade the congressmen, and I assigned up to three demerits to those who received poor grades.
These, then, are the House Republicans least likely to help the conservative movement.This is a work in progress. If you feel there is an issue that is unrepresented, and can suggest a vote which was either tight, or along party lines, please suggest it, and I will include it in version 2.0 of this study. Also, feel free to suggest Senate actions, because I will be doing a Senate version of this study
DIABLO: Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware (13 points).
Almost DIABLO:
Eleana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, Steve LaTourette, (10 points)
(The difference between the Diaz-Balarts and Ros Lehtinen versus Castle was Castle's support for abortion and gun grabbing.)
Vernon Ehlers (9 points)
Chris Smith (8 points)
Mark Kirk, Dave Reichert (7 points)
RINO
Reps. Lance, Rogers of Michigan (6 points)
Reps. Buchanan, Cao, Freylinghuysen, LoBiondo, Miller, Turner, Upton (5 points)
Potential backstabbers
Reps. Bono Mack, Camp, Dent, Emerson, Gerlach, Inglis, King of NY, Ryan, Souder, Young of FL (4 points) Reps. Brown-Waite, Johnson, Jones, Lee, McCotter, Murphy, Petri, Platts, Radanovich, Wolf, Young of AK (3 points)
To help you make up your own mind, based on which issues you find important, and to solicit help spotting errors or ambiguities, these are the party bolters on each key vote I analyzed:
Paycheck Fairness Act
Cao, Castle, Diaz-Balart (both), Gerlach, Johnson, Ros-Lehtinen, Reichert, Smith of NJ
SCHIP "reform":
Austria, Bono Mack, Buchanan, Castle, Diaz-Balard (both), Ehlers, Emerson, Freylngheusen, Gerlach, King of NY, Lance, LaTourette, Lee, LoBiondo, McHugh, Miller of MI, Moran, Murphy, Paulsen, Petri, Platts, Rehberg, Reichert, Rogers of AL, Ros-Lehtinen, Simpson, Smith of NJ, Thompson of PA, Turner, Upton, Wolf, Young (both)
TARP "reform":
Buchanan, Camp, Campbell, Castle, Diaz-Balart (2), Ehlers, Hoekstra, Lance, LaTourette, McCotter, Miller of MI, Reichert, Rogers of MI, Schock, Souder, Turner, Upton,
Relating to the disapproval of obligations under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008:
Campbell, Kirk, Souder, Inglis
Fair Pay Act:
Lance, Smith of NH, Whitfield
DTV Delay Act:
Bilirakis, Brown-Waite, Buchanan, Cao, Diaz-Balart (both), Duncan, Emerson, Jones, LaTouretts, LoBiondo, McClintock, McHugh, Posey, Roe, Rogers (both), Ros-Lehtinen, Sensenbrenner, Shuster, Smith of NJ, Sullivan, Turner
Bailing out bad loans (HR 1106):
Castle, Diaz-Balart (2), Jones, McHugh, Ros-Lehtinen, Turner
Land Management:
Bono Mack, Brown-Waite, Capito, Cassidy, Castle, Dent, Ehlers, Fortenberry, Freylingheusen, Gerlach Inglis, Johnson, Jones, Kirk, Lance, LaTourette, Lee, LoBiondo, McKeon, Miller of MI, Paulsen, Petri, Platts, Reichert, Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen, Simpson, Smith of NJ, Smith of TX, Turner, Upton, Walden, Wamp, Whitfield, Wittman, Wolf, Young (both)
Mortgage Reform Amendments:
Brown-Waite, Dent, Ehlers, Gerlach, Jones (2), Lance, LoBiondo, Murphy (2), Platts, Reichert, Smith of NJ, Turner
21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act:
Brown-Waite, Dent, Diaz-Balart (both), Ehlers, Gerlach, Johnson, King of NY, Kirk, Lance, LaTourette, LoBiondo, McCaul, McCotter, McHugh, Miller, Murphy, Platts, Posey, Reichert, Ros-Lehtinen, Smith of NJ, Young of FL
Motion to Recommit 2nd Supplemental Appropriations (HR 2346):
Campbell, Duncan, Flake, Paul
Oversees Promotion of Abortion:
Castle, Dent, Kirk, LaTourette, Lance, McHugh, Reichert
Public Funding of Elective Abortion in DC:
Capito, Castle, LaTourette, McHugh
Deny Funds to Planned Parenthood:
Biggert, Castle, Dent, Freylingheusen, Jenkins, Kirk, Lance
Some Votes from 2008 were too critical to ignore: Automobile Bailout (HR 7321):
Boozman, Hunter, Castle, Manzullo, LaHood, Souder, Buyer, Lewis, McCrery, Gilchrest, Hoekstra, Ehlers, Camp, Upton, Rogers of MI, Knollenberg, Miller of MI, McCotter, Ramstad, Blunt, Emerson, Porter, Smith of NJ, Freylinghuysen, King of NY, McHugh, Walsh, Kuhl, LaTourette, Regula, English, Murphy, Capito, Ryan
TARP Bailout (HR 1424):
Young of AK, Shaddegg, Herger, Lundgren, Radanovich, McKeon, Dreier, Lewis, Calvert, Bono Mack, Tancredo, Shays, Castle, Crenshaw, Putnam, Buchanan, Ros-Lehtinen, Kirk, Weller, Biggert, LaHood, Souder, Lewis, Rogers, McCrery, Alexander, Boustany, Gilchrest, Hoekstra, Ehlers, Camp, Upton, Knollenberg, Kline, Pickering, Emerson, Terry, Porter, Saxton, Ferfuson, Freylinghuysen, Wilson of NM, King of NY, Fossella, McHugh, Walsh, Reynolds, Coble, Myrick, Schmidt, Hobson, Boehner, Regula, Pryce, Sullivan, Cole, Fallin, Walden, Peterson, Gerlach, Shuster, Dent, Brown, Wilson of SC, Barrett, Inglis, Wamp of TN, Brady, Conaway, Granger, Thornberry, Smith of TX, Sessions, Cannon, Cantor, Ryan, Cubin
Oil Exploration (S Con Res 70):
Shays, Bilirakis, Buchanan, Diaz-Balart (both), Johnson, Ehlers, Ramstad, LoBiondo, Saxton, Smith of NJ, Ferguson, Freylinghuysen, Walsh, Inglis, Reichert
D.C. Gun Rights (H.R. 3193)
Bono Mack, Castle, Davis of VA, Ferguson, Foley, Gilchrest, Greenwood, Houghton, Hyde, Johnson of CT, Kirk, Leach, Quinn, Ramstad, Saxton, Shays, Smith of NJ, Walsh, Wolf, Young of FL
In lieu of individual votes on immigration, I refer to NumbersUSA immigration grades, giving demerits for substandard grades
3 demerits:
F: Ros-Lehtinen, Diaz-Balart (both)
D: Cao
2 demerits:
C-: Kyl, Lee, Nunez, Radanovich, Ehlers
C: Flake, Ryan
C+: Rogers, LaTourette
1 demerit:
B-: Paul, Putnam, Wolf, Petri, Castle, Tiberi, McMorris, Camp, Boustany, Shimkus
So Chris Smith, one of the most pro-life representatives in the House is considered a left-winger?
Turn the only cheek.
Truthfully, I was surprised at the consistency with which Chris Smith voted with the Left. Maybe we should call him Bart Stupak In All But Label Only. (Or Lee Hamilton, if he’s still more famous.) I still think he’s doing God’s work, even if votes the wrong way fairly often. ;^)
Come to think of it, several of the more left-leaning, moderate or maverick Republicans are very pro-life Catholics.
Good Job.
Thanks for quantifying something I've been complaining about for a couple of years
Actually, that brings up a very interesting point:
The only true liberal in the list is Mike Castle. Many conservatives have lost races in 2006 and 2008, but the lefty wing of the Republican House is all but destroyed, leaving a very conservative caucus. I mean, if Chris Smith is one of the most left-leaning House Republicans, what does that say?
No...it's relative to the Republican Party. So if you vote for small government, then you get a bad score.
What’s interesting is that Mike Castle is going all out to emphasize his fiscal conservatism and playing up the populist aspect of his liberal side.
Perhaps disregard my previous comment...I think I misread.
How did you score “voting with the sitting Republican POTUS” for 2008 votes?
Although I did not target specifically Rinos or Diablos, here is my attempt at painting those who betray US.
Who brought US to this point? Congressional Scorecard
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2341921/posts
Those who voted for these horrible bills are highlighted in yellow. (note I found later that I missed a few when I coded the yellow backgrounds)
Listed by State and then by District.
The geographic dispersion on the yellow is interesting. NY, MA, CA etc.
Good hunting.
Why not?
Being pro-life doesn't make you conservative.
One can be anti-abortion (the CORRECT terminology) and still support almost total Marxism on economic issues. A lot of Catholic voters are that way.
More sneaky stuff by our Congress to get who they want in office.
Your study doesn’t mention Snowe or Collins. In all seriousness, that means your methodology is wrong.
oops, I saw just was it was the House not the Senate.
Smith has always been a favorite of National Right To Life, who despise conservatives in the end but need to use them to elect their people.
NRL forces have come in to support Hoffman in New York becuae they have no other choice to reconnect with the grassroots right now.
Rick Santorum is being groomed by them right now to run in Iowa in 2012 to split votes away from Palin or others so Romney can win.
Here in PA we watched Santorum tell us Arlen Specter was “with us when it counts” and support other pro-abortion politicians.
Now Santorum is touting himself again and calling Specter a “flip-flopper.” Of course all that mattered to Santorum we can tell was Specter having an R label, too.
Santorum endorsed Hoffman in New York after Sarah Palin did.
He’s out there to hurt her in 2012. Don’t be fooled by him or Chris Smith.
This is a good analysis fitting my congressman Todd Platts in with the rest of them.
Very good work.
I was surprised to see the NRA endorse Dede “Scazza” (the liberal repub). What’s up with that?
Santorum has every right to run for president if he wants, as does anyone. Our job is to sort it out.
In all seriousness, it means you should read the article more closely :^)
It’s House Republicans. I’m doing the Senate next.
I purposely didn’t. A sitting Republican president can sell out his party, too. See McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, the 1990 tax hikes, NCLB, etc.
I’m curious: Why such emphasis on the FDA case? Why is that a betrayal? Im not challenging, just trying to learn more about an issue that may have escaped my attention.
Being pro-life doesn’t make you conservative.
***It is a step in the right direction.
Well, it probably means you aren't a communist, a nihilist, or somebody who wants to destroy the culture.
That's not enough.
Or did the POTUS and party dell out conservatism?
Right on the nose. In fact, even many FReepers advocate Big Government implementation of their anti-abortion goals.
I knew most of these would be DIABLOs or RINOs, but WHO are the very BEST ranking Congressmen?
That’s MUCH harder to objectively quantify. Do you consider people who always vote the party line to be “BEST” over those who refuse to vote for party-supported compromises with centrist Democrats? Or who regularly make symbolic nays to pragmatic bills? And then there’s the phenomenon of party leaders like Cornyn on the right and, in the old days, Moynihan on the left... guys who vote very party line, but routinely undermine conservatives and liberals, respectively.
So what you get is people who become liked because they become champions for a given cause, and loved most by the people with whom that cause resonates most with them.
Just as one can see the NAACP or ACORN being an arm of the Democrat Party, the National Rifle Association seems to have become an arm of the GOP.
That’s a bold statement, but I think its true. I tried to get NRA support in a state legislative race against the official party backed candidate who had spoken of “guns” as a threat that needed to be regulated.
The NRA stood clear and allowed the anti-Second Amendment RINO to win the primary. I got the feeling that something was going on behind the scenes with this guy maybe talking both ways or party insiders vouching for him with NRA.
The RINO in this district may or may not be friendly to the Second Amendment. Heck, even the Democrat they appointed to the Senate from upstate New York has touted her ownership of a firearm.
That’s not enough.
***OK, I’ll bite. What are the minimal elements of being a conservative? I’ve always liked JimRob’s definition on the front page of FR, but it doesn’t say what would be the minimalist conservative:
As a conservative site, Free Republic is pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-Constitution, pro-Bill of Rights, pro-gun, pro-limited government, pro-private property rights, pro-limited taxes, pro-capitalism, pro-national defense, pro-freedom, and-pro America. We oppose all forms of liberalism, socialism, fascism, pacifism, totalitarianism, anarchism, government enforced atheism, abortionism, feminism, homosexualism, racism, wacko environmentalism, judicial activism, etc.
Mark Kirk is definitely a RINO.
My Post here on Aug. 1st. will be a start for explaining my horror of this bill.
“The Jackasses did it……HR 2749 the Seizure of the US food supply and production passed the House”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2306275/posts
You must understand that my family has farmed in the same county in Texas for over 110 years. And before that in Alabama and Georgia. This is a subject that I have some knowledge of.
The ultimate weapon of control in a country is the food supply. If you do not believe me, look a Zimbawe. Mugabe only distributes humanitarian aid to those who support him. You support me or die. Pretty simple.
Millions of farmers in the Ukraine were starved to death by Stalin in 1932-1933 (Holodomor) to crush the resistance to collectivism. There other examples that totalitarians have used food as a weapon to subject.
This is about regulation to destroy. It coupled with current PVP acts make it possible to destroy all but corporate agriculture. I feel that is exactly the aim.
If this does not convince you of the danger, let me know and I will take the time to explain in more detail the danger.
Never trust a Commie, and Obozo is a natural born Commie.
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.