Progressive Punch rates Hillary as the most Progressive Presidential candidate...

[SaveElmer]

Of those running from a seat in Congress...for 2007-2008

Hillary Clinton: 91.81
Barack Obama: 90.45
Dennis Kucinich: 87.41
Chris Dodd: 86.84
Joe Biden: 84.40
Ron Paul: 24.14
John McCain: 13.77
Tom Tancredo: 6.92
Sam Brownback: 5.13

http://www.progressivepunch.org/members.jsp?chamber=Senate&party=All&x=39&y=14

[Colobo]

1. Hillary and Barack have very close scores, and why isn't Edwards there?

[SaveElmer]

2. He's not in Congress...

They only rate Congressmen and Senators...

[5X]

3. that is about the stupidest thing I ever saw, no way she is more progressive

than Kucinich. No way

[SaveElmer]

5. Given his disgraceful vote on SCHIP...

It would not shock me...

[5X]

6. One vote does not a progressive make. and he had his reasons. n/t

[SaveElmer]

8. Which was pathetic...

Playing politics with kids health...

[GreenArrow]

16. like the ones who voted for it weren't playing politics

I guess it's okay so long as it isn't your kid not being covered.

'Twas the road of least resistance.

[SaveElmer]

19. I guess Kucinich thinks its ok to deny 1 million kids coverage...

As long as it provides him a press release...

It should tell you something that not one other person in the Progressive caucus took his position...he was wrong...dead wrong...

[GreenArrow]

21. Kucinich believes that all children should be covered

Whether you agree or disagree with the politics of it, that's a basic enough proposition. And he's right, whether the rest of his colleagues have the guts to fight for it or not.

[SaveElmer]

23. Obviously he doesn't...

As he passed up an opportunity to cover the vast majority of them...

[GreenArrow]

27. what's the difference between the "vast majority" and "all'?

There is one, you know.

[SaveElmer]

28. The diffference is...

Leaving millions of kids hanging in the wind while you wait for that magical day when you get everything you want...Kucinich apparently is unfamiliar with the history of landmark legislation...which never emerges fully formed at its birth...

Kucinich is playing politics...plain and simple

[Desertrose]

32. and of course Hillary isn't.

:rofl:

[SaveElmer]

34. On SCHIP...no she isn't...

She was instrumental in its inception, and has been a champion of increasing its scope for years...

[Desertrose]

37. Did it pass? Do we have it? Or has Bush changed all that?

[SaveElmer]

38. DK provided no leadership...and of course voted against it...nt

[Desertrose]

39. House vs Senate

Conyers-Kucinich bill HR626

Does Hillary like this one??
Covers everyone......

[liberaldemocrat7]

33. The inadequate indeed appears the enemy of the almost perfect

and Kunich saw the bill as inadequate.


If you look at the political compass page Kucinich appears the only liberal in the group of presidential candidates, as the rest, even Edwards appear as conservative Democrats.

[SaveElmer]

36. Kucinich is wrong...

And the fact the every one of his colleagues in the Progressive caucus disagreed with him ought to give him pause...but it of course won't...

The bill would have covered more than a million children who do not now have coverage....

[Cronopio]

44. As a Kucinich supporter, I agree - he was wrong on this vote.

Some children covered is better than no children covered, and his vote excluded all of the children.

He has some 'splainin to do on this one.

[GreenArrow]

42. the difference is

that "all" doesn't leave any out. "That magical day when you get everything you want"...Nothing magicical about it; it takes belly to will and guts to fight for such things, attributes in apparently short supply in Congress' hallowed halls.

[Forkboy]

25. As opposed to playing politics with the health of 4000 American lives and almost million Iraqi ones?

:eyes:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

20. Remember that Kucinich is pro-life...

He's very Catholic, and while he has said (since running in 2004) that he wouldn't attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade, he's no supporter of a woman's right to choose.

I admire Kucinich very much (and wouldn't mind his being President in the least), but he's conservative on some select issues.

[Desertrose]

35. He may have been in the past....but now is pro-choice.

His litmus test for choosing new SCotUS judges is that they WILL NOT overturn Roe v.Wade.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

40. Not necessarily pro-choice...

He's just said that he will leave Roe v. Wade alone.

I can totally respect his position on this subject (pro-life) because he's also opposed to the death penalty and favors programs that help poor families to raise their children. He is morally consistent on the issue, unlike most right-to-lifers who couldn't give two shits for the fetus on the day after its born.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. You buried your own lede: "Chips are Down" Voting score Hill 18th, Obama 35th

(Progressive Punch's measure of political Courage in votes) Hillary roughly tied with Feingold, Obama roughly tied with Evan Bayh:

"The votes used to calculate the scores in the "Chips Are Down '07-'08" column are a subset of the overall votes that qualify according to the Progressive Punch algorithm described above. They show the impact that even a small number of Democrats have when they defect from the progressive position. These are votes where either progressives lost or where the progressive victory was narrow and could have been changed by a small group of Democrats voting differently. The definition of a vote where progressives lost is one where a majority of the progressive cohort (see list below) was on the losing side of the vote. Narrow progressive victories are defined as votes in which progressives won by 20 votes or fewer in the House (so a shift of 10 votes from one side to the other would have changed the result) or by 6 votes or fewer in the Senate (so a shift of 3 votes from one side to the other would have changed the result)."

http://www.progressivepunch.org/members.jsp?search=selectScore&chamber=Senate&scoreSort=current_close

[SaveElmer]

7. Read it again...

I did not say Hillary was the most progressive in Congress...I said she is the most progressive of those running for President...according to these ratings

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. Read my post again.

I was saying that the "chips are down" scores are more telling in FAVOR of your candidate, with Hilary in the Feingold category and Obama in the Evan Bayh category. (Hill is tops among candidates in both categories, but Obama really lags in that measure)

[SaveElmer]

10. I see...

Sorry...I get ya now!

[William769]

11. Damn, the irony!

:rofl:

[illinoisprogressive]

12. they must have been punchy or drank too much kool aid

[ronnykmarshall]

17. and un-hip.

[mmonk]

13. Somebody spiked it.

[mmonk]

14. I guess progressive doesn't mean like the old FDR

progressives.

[Warpy]

15. I've been trying to point that out about Hillary Clinton's voting record

It is a good one.

My complaints are about her unacceptable stance on Middle Eastern wars and her completely unacceptable health plan.

[IndianaGreen]

18. Hillary offers 4 more years of Iraq war under her leadersheep

She is as progressive as Bush is compassionate.

[zulchzulu]

30. Wow.. cool term!

"leadersheep"!

:rofl:

[Larkspur]

22. Obviously the ignore her support of outsourcing American jobs to India

and elsewhere.

She's a corporate whore. Just look at her major donor list -- corporate lobbyists galore.

[kwolf68]

41. Why do you think she is winning?

What confuses me is a good man with a tremendous career from a Northeastern state is said to not appeal to Southern voters, middle America. We 'need' to get someone from the midwest or South. Remember these memes? CNN had a story about Kerry's 'liberalness' every day. He wasn't considered electable...too Liberal, too smart and from the most Liberal state in the nation.

Here Hillary is...a women, fairly Liberal, also smart, from a Northeastern state who was at one time probably the most hated women in America, advanced socialized medicine at one time...and she's running away with the nomination? Where is the 'she's not electable' commentary from the MSM now?

It tells me that ideas and leadership potential have nothing to do with these elections, rather who the corporate kitty spreads for.

[TheUniverse]

24. All this is, is proof that rating don't matter.

Anyone who supported the war in Iraq and voted for Lieberman's Iran bill does not deserve a 91.81 percent rating.

[Vidar]

26. Perhaps they are measuring Progressives by Victorian standards.

[zulchzulu]

29. Talk about splitting hairs...sheesh...

Hillary Clinton has a commanding 1.36% lead over Obama on being the "most progressive"... bookmarking for humorous desperation by Team Clinton...

:rofl:

[Mass]

31. And Feingold and Kennedy 21st most progressive senators.

That is very telling.

Schumer and Levin more progressive than Sanders.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

43. "Progressive" like Will Marshall is, ya mean???

:eyes:

On edit: I just checked the methodolgy used to determine the rankings, and all I can say is that it is seriously open to debate -- they even admit it themselves. I am sorry, but when Barbara Lee's vote against the Afghanistan war does not count towards her tally as a progressive, there is something wrong with things.