Bob Schaffer - 14th most Conservative since 1937

by: Zappatero

03/09/08 @ 10:43:13 AM MDT

The Denver Post, while finding an astonishing fact about Big Oil Bob Schaffer, proceeds to muddy up the comparison between Schaffer the extremist and the eminently reasonable Mark Udall.

One analysis of Schaffer's three-term congressional record places him as the 14th most conservative out of more than 3,400 lawmakers to go to Washington since 1937. Udall, though less extreme, falls squarely within his party's liberal wing — and based on his votes is more liberal than Clinton and Obama.

You read that right: Bob Schaffer is one of the most extreme right-wingers since 1937. That should have been the headline of this article. But you know, maybe Bob Schaffer is anti-union enough that Dean Singleton feels the need to overlook that little fact. Therefore they call Udall "less extreme" to make things seem fair and balanced (ahem). And Bingo - 14th and 509th are similar!

The Post continues to compare Apple Pie to Oranges:

Those voting records present significant problems for the early strategies of both campaigns, which depend on repositioning their candidates to appeal to the moderate and independent voters who most experts say will decide the race.

That would be ok if it was true. Unfortunately, for all of us Denver Post readers, and the candidates and the voters, it's not. Here are some stats on how voters now trust Democrats overwhelmingly on the issues:

Foreign policy: Democrats +5

Immigration: Demorats + 5

Iraq: Democrats +10

Taxes: Democrats +12

Morality: Democrats +10

Economy: Democrats +19

Education: Democrats + 29

Health care: Democrats +30

Reforming government: Democrats +25

Energy: Democrats +34

Environment: Democrats +44

Those are curent numbers. Bob Schaffer's are historic, and I mean historically bad. Colorado has definitely been through it's red period and is ready to go all Picasso now. The Post wants to make a race out of a comparison that isn't even close. We probably can't school the writers and the editors of the Post on math.

But we can school them on history.

Update: (by johne)

Here's some more data to consider

This is data from the same source as in the article, comparing every vote from 1937 up through 2002.  The more current data isn't in as usable for format.  On a scale of -1 to +1, -1 being most liberal of left wing and +1 being most conservative or right wing Udall is -.397. Thats not even in the middle of pure moderate to pure liberal.  Bob Schaffer is +.787 and there are only 7 republicans since 1937 more conservative than that.  For Mark Udall, there have been 378 officials more liberal.

The data set actually goes from

-0.784 to +.882

That means that -0.397 is right at the middle from 0 to -0.784.  That's right, 

looking at the data this way Mark Udall ranks right in the middle from far left to pure moderate.

Schaffer on the other hand is only .095 off of the most conservative rating. 

Want to know who's more liberal than Mark Udall?

(in increasing liberalness) 

LAUTENBERG, FRANK R.
DEGETTE, DIANA 
OBEY, DAVID R.
HART, GARY
TSONGAS, PAUL
SARBANES, PAUL 
DINGELL, JOHN DAVID
CLINTON, WILLIAM J.
DINGELL, JOHN DAVID JR. 
WAXMAN, HENRY

Kennedy, JOHN F.

ROOSEVELT, FRANKLIN DELAN
FEINGOLD, RUSSELL D. (of McCain-Fiengold campaign finiance reform)
CONYERS, JOHN, JR.

Now, who's more conservative than Bob Schaffer?  

Ron Paul is the most conservative on that list.  The others inbetween them seem to not be presently serving.  

But, who's less conservative than Bob Schaffer?

(in order from most to least conservative, but still to the left of Bob Schaffer)

TANCREDO, THOMAS G.

HELMS, JESSE  

GOLDWATER, BARRY MORRIS

DELAY, THOMAS D.

ALLARD, WAYNE

BUSH, GEORGE H.W.

CHENEY, RICHARD BRUCE  

INHOFE, JAMES M (denies existence of global warming)

ASHCROFT, JOHN

CRAIG, LARRY 

THURMOND, JAMES STROM

BUSH, GEORGE W

McLobbyist MCINNIS, SCOTT 

 CUNNINGHAM, RANDY "DUKE"

ALLEN, GEORGE F. (Dick Wadhams' macaca throwing looser to Jim Webb for senate)

RUMSFELD, DONALD