Embracing Liberal Rankings

The Boston Globe looks at the liberal ratings for Edward Kennedy and John Kerry. After facing attacks from the Bush campaign based upon demonizing liberals, and falsely claiming that John Kerry was the most liberal member of the Senate, David Wade was naturally concerned. ‘’Americans judge you by what you fight for, not the number a cubicle-dwelling pencil pusher assigns to your votes,” said spokesman David Wade. These grades seem more arbitrary by the minute.”

The Bush campaign had distorted The National Journal’s rankings to claim that Kerry was the most liberal member of the Senate. Kerry actually had a life time ranking of number eleven, and came in eighth this year. Overall I believe this is a good place for Kerry to be if looking ahead to 2008. Being ranked the “most liberal” would have been more likely to give the appearance of being out of the mainstream, but being number eight doesn’t necessarily give that impression to the average voter. On the other hand, showing that his record has been consistently liberal can help in the nomination race, protecting Kerry from the old Bush-lite attacks, and reducing the risk of losing votes to Russ Feingold (whose liberal rankings are actually below Kerry’s).

David Wade is right about the arbitrary nature of the rankings, but this quote (which probably is not all he had to say, so I don’t mean this as criticism of him) is not the ideal answer. The best answer is to discuss Kerry’s whole record, including areas where he doesn’t fall in the liberal stereotype. This includes support for a balanced budget, his support for small business (especially important considering the way right wing blogs commonly call him a socialist), his support for a strong defense (including his pre-9/11 warnings against the dangers of terrorism), his religious background, and his experience in fighting crime as a former prosecutor (leading to his investigations in the Senate to fight a different type of crime). Looking at the full record is more meaningful than looking at this type of rating.

Kennedy, not having to face a national campaign, is in a better position to outright defend liberalism. “If being called a liberal means fighting to improve healthcare, creating an economy that works for every American, increasing college opportunity, and ensuring that Massachusetts continues to lead the nation on technology and medicine, then Senator Kennedy is proud of that label because being a senator is about how you improve people’s lives, not what political category you fall into.”

This is reminiscent of his brother’s famous quote, “But if by a ‘Liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people–their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties–someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘Liberal,’ then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’”