Alright, I have to say it, The Patrick Henry scorecards piss me off [View All]

[Hippo_Tron]

I've ranted about this a number of times in replies but I've never started a thread about it, so here goes.

I am upset at the fact that several members on DU have decided to use the Patrick Henry scorecards as a way to unfairly demonize certain members of congress and more specificly US Senators while making gods out of others. I don't mind having a chart that shows how every senator and every congressman has voted this year. In fact, I think that this is a good way to keep an eye on our senators and representatives.

If posters would post the Patrick Henry scorecards and say, gee maybe we need to call a few of these senators and representatives and tell them how we feel about some of their recent votes, that would be alright.

What I don't like is this...

"Such and such Democrat has a -20 on the Patrick Henry scorecard, we should kick that DINO out of office this instant. But look Dennis Kucinich and Cynthia McKinney, they have perfect record. They are great and all other Democrats suck, they are the only ones worthy of being President."

The reason I don't like this (besides the fact that I see it 20 times a day) is that judging senators by their Patrick Henry scorecards is completely unfair. The Patrick Henry scorecard calculates certain votes from 2005. It's now June 2005. Basically, the Patrick Henry scorecard calculates half of a session of congress. Some of these men and women have served over 20 years in congress. Some of them have thousands of votes that aren't listed on the Patrick Henry scorecard. Some of them have made serious accomplishments outside of congress or accomplishments that aren't reflected on their voting record. You can't honestly tell me that you can seriously judge whether or not somebody is a real Democrat by their voting record from January-June 2005.

Not only that, but how a Senator/Representative's vote is scored is based on how it is in accordance with the Patrick Henry Think Tank's principles. Being a Democrat or even a Progressive Democrat doesn't mean that you have to agree with the Patrick Henry Think Tank 100% of the time.

Once again, I don't mind the scorecards. I mind the way that they are used to attack senators and representatives. I would ask that if DUers post these scorecards that they post them in a less inflamatory manner.