Senate Voting Summary Congress at Midterm - John Kerry

Email Print posted by DynamicDems 06/20/2006 04:13:28 AM EST

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Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record

The third annual congressional scorecard from the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy evaluates each member of the U.S. House and Senate based on their 2005 votes on select legislation of significance to current and aspiring middle-class Americans.
 


Kerry [D–MA]

Score: 100
Grade: A

The Bills - Senator Kerry Voted with the Middle Class Position 100% if the time. He was with the Middle Class on all of these votes. Bravo Senator Kerry. It's nice someone is in their fighting for us average people instead of big oil companies and millionaires.
    &nb sp;         &nb sp;    
Amendment On Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices [S.amdt. 214 To S.con.res 18]

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005 [S 256]

Class Action Fairness Act [S 5]

Deficit Reduction Act Of 2005 [S 1932 / H.res. 653]

Dominican Republic-central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act [Hr 3045]

Energy Policy Act Of 2005 [Hr 6]

Fair Minimum Wage Act Of 2005 [S.amdt. 44 To S 256]

Sense Of The Senate In Support Of Social Security [S.amdt. 145 To S.con.res 18]

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Senate Voting Summary Congress at Midterm - John Kerry | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)
Meaningless scorecards (none / 1)
How useful is a scorecard that awards all but three Republican senators an F, but only one Democrat in the Senate gets an F?

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to challenging the tired orthodoxies of both the right and the left.

I'm sure the Family Research Council claims to be a nonpartisan organization, but it manages to create scorecards that flunk all but a very few Democratic legislators.

Scorecards from both groups are worthless.

by Twba on 06/20/2006 08:10:08 AM EST

They are useful - if the issues matter to you (none / 1)
I don't like the scores as they weight everything equally, where most individuals would assign different weights. The tables showing the votes that lead to the scores are far more useful.

by Jerseygirl on 06/22/2006 10:55:08 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Good point. (none / 0)
The tables let you see the votes and judge for yourself. 
 
Although, I'd also have to agree with the ratings. And they are no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the votes this congress. The Republicans do not support the middle class. They vote down issues that matter to the middle class time and time again. That's a fact.

by DynamicDems on 06/23/2006 12:08:06 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Who represents the middle class? (none / 0)
The Republicans do not support the middle class.

But it is the suburban middle class voters that put the Republicans in office. How do you explain that?

by Twba on 06/23/2006 03:49:06 AM EST

[ Parent ]
I explain it as a betrayal. (none / 0)
In my area, most people are traditional, conservative Repubicans. They are born into families that are conservative Republican families. Their parents and their parents before them voted Republican.
 
From these people, I heard many different reasons why they voted for George Bush. Most of them were not happy with his first term but felt that he should be made to fix his own mess. Many of these people now feel betrayed and some are even ashamed that they voted for him.
 
As one friend puts it, "I used to be a Republican." He also mentions that more and more of his friends are replying, "Me too."
 
This is because they have seen how time and time again the Republicans in the Senate and the House have voted against their interests in favor of the interests of large corporations and the upper class.
 
The Middle Class is vanishing and the people I know are feeling this squeeze. It is changing their perspective and their tradition of voting Republican.
 
A woman I work with had a Bush sign over her desk since the election. Several months back, the sign was taken down. A couple of weeks ago she commented on the, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry" sticker over my desk. She said that she liked it and shrugged and added, "even if I am a Republican." 
 
I didn't ask her why she was no longer enthralled with George W. Bush or if she were going to remain a Republican. 
 
Everywhere I go lately, people compliment me on my Kerry bumper stickers.  This is a sea change where I live because it is traditionally a Republican stronghold. 
 
I'm getting a very strong sense of betrayal from middle class voters who have voted Republican all their lives and now feel that the people they voted for are not looking out for their interests or promoting their values.
 
People who have never watched C-Span or are starting to pay close attention to what our Congress does. And they are starting to hold legislators accountable for their actions. 
 

 
 
 

by DynamicDems on 06/23/2006 06:59:06 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Muddled class (none / 0)
The Middle Class is vanishing and the people I know are feeling this squeeze.

Homeownership is at an all-time high. The median household income is $44,000. What makes you think the middle-class is disappearing?

by Twba on 06/23/2006 07:28:59 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Not all scorecards are created equal (none / 0)
And they are no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the votes this congress. The Republicans do not support the middle class. They vote down issues that matter to the middle class time and time again.

I found another scorecard (.pdf) that paints a different picture. The National Taxpayers Union analyzed every roll call vote during 2005 and selected all votes that could significantly affect the amounts of federal spending, taxes, debt or regulatory impact. A total of 169 Senate roll call votes were used to grade Senators. No Senator scored a 100 or a zero.

John Kerry gets an F with a 7 percent score. The median Senate score is 50 percent, so it is fair to say that for some graders, John Kerry is not supporting the issues that the middle-class cares about.

by Twba on 06/23/2006 10:59:12 AM EST

[ Parent ]
The National Taxpayers Union (none / 0)
I really like these guys. Their primary concern is how much Americans pay in federal income tax, state income tax, property tax, sales tax, social security tax, medicare tax, etc.

When added together, Americans are losing more than 50% of their income to taxation. That doesn't leave us with much to live on.

Libertarians and Republicans are very concerned about confiscatory taxation. Conversely, Democrats' only concern is how much they can increase taxes. Remember Bill Clinton's Retroactive Income Tax Act of 1993? I certainly do...that was a killer!

I guess this is why John Kohn Kerry achieved a 7% rating.

by KenTX on 06/23/2006 03:57:36 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Senate Voting Summary Congress at Midterm - John Kerry | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden)
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