The message below is that there is no such thing as a conservative Democrat. Forget what you hear in the press about 'the Blue Dog Democrats.'
Every Democrat is a supporter of Obama, of spending more, and of a Pelosi-reprise.
And get this: even the most liberal Republican is more conservative than the most conservative Democrat....
1. "As the Democratic Party shifts leftward without much resistance, Republicans are fighting a war for the soul of their party. House Speaker John Boehner faces constant revolt on his right flank from a growing number of tea-party-affiliated members....
a. Six of the 12 Republican senators up for reelection in 2014 are facing primary challenges from their right, even though several rank among the most conservative, according to the vote ratings.
2. .... today's Congress, ... more polarized than any Congress since National Journal began calculating its ratings in 1982.
3. For the fourth straight year, no Senate Democrat was more conservative than a Senate Republicanand no Senate Republican was more liberal than a Senate Democrat. In the House, only two Democrats were more conservative than a Republicanand only two Republicans were more liberal than a Democrat. The ideological overlap between the parties in the House was less than in any previous index.
a. It's worth noting that every Democratic senator, even West Virginia's Joe Manchin, is more liberal than the most moderate Republican senator, Maine's Susan Collins....the Democratic Party's leftward drift.
4. "Voters have been voting along party lines at the highest rate in 50 years;...
5. Three of the five most moderate Democrats in the House....have already announced their retirements this year....In the Senate, it's plausible that as many as six of the 11 most moderate Democrats could be gone next year;....Red-state Democrats are breaking with their party, but their Obamacare votes still lurk.
6. Republican presidential candidates in Congress continue to showcase their conservatism.
7. Of the six Republican senators facing primary challenges in 2014, only three are significantly more moderate than the average Republican senator. Heading the pack are South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander, who both rank as the fifth-most-moderate, with 64.5 conservative scores.....McConnell's 77.7 composite conservative score ranks him in the middle of the GOP pack,
8. Conservatives will have reason to be steamed (again) at John McCain and Orrin Hatch.
9. ....liberal icon Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts placed herself in the middle ....She voted to repeal Obamacare's medical-device tax and "to repeal or reduce the estate tax".... opposing a measure that would have allowed states to mandate labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. On social issues, however, she lived up to form, tying with 26 other Democratic senators as the most liberal.
10. The most liberal Democrats in the Senate are among the most hawkish on Iran sanctions....(All of them represent states with significant Jewish voting constituencies.)"
The Most Divided Congress Ever, At Least Until Next Year - NationalJournal.com
We do live in interesting times......
Every Democrat is a supporter of Obama, of spending more, and of a Pelosi-reprise.
And get this: even the most liberal Republican is more conservative than the most conservative Democrat....
1. "As the Democratic Party shifts leftward without much resistance, Republicans are fighting a war for the soul of their party. House Speaker John Boehner faces constant revolt on his right flank from a growing number of tea-party-affiliated members....
a. Six of the 12 Republican senators up for reelection in 2014 are facing primary challenges from their right, even though several rank among the most conservative, according to the vote ratings.
2. .... today's Congress, ... more polarized than any Congress since National Journal began calculating its ratings in 1982.
3. For the fourth straight year, no Senate Democrat was more conservative than a Senate Republicanand no Senate Republican was more liberal than a Senate Democrat. In the House, only two Democrats were more conservative than a Republicanand only two Republicans were more liberal than a Democrat. The ideological overlap between the parties in the House was less than in any previous index.
a. It's worth noting that every Democratic senator, even West Virginia's Joe Manchin, is more liberal than the most moderate Republican senator, Maine's Susan Collins....the Democratic Party's leftward drift.
4. "Voters have been voting along party lines at the highest rate in 50 years;...
5. Three of the five most moderate Democrats in the House....have already announced their retirements this year....In the Senate, it's plausible that as many as six of the 11 most moderate Democrats could be gone next year;....Red-state Democrats are breaking with their party, but their Obamacare votes still lurk.
6. Republican presidential candidates in Congress continue to showcase their conservatism.
7. Of the six Republican senators facing primary challenges in 2014, only three are significantly more moderate than the average Republican senator. Heading the pack are South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander, who both rank as the fifth-most-moderate, with 64.5 conservative scores.....McConnell's 77.7 composite conservative score ranks him in the middle of the GOP pack,
8. Conservatives will have reason to be steamed (again) at John McCain and Orrin Hatch.
9. ....liberal icon Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts placed herself in the middle ....She voted to repeal Obamacare's medical-device tax and "to repeal or reduce the estate tax".... opposing a measure that would have allowed states to mandate labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. On social issues, however, she lived up to form, tying with 26 other Democratic senators as the most liberal.
10. The most liberal Democrats in the Senate are among the most hawkish on Iran sanctions....(All of them represent states with significant Jewish voting constituencies.)"
The Most Divided Congress Ever, At Least Until Next Year - NationalJournal.com
We do live in interesting times......
