Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords part of “The New Center”
March 6th, 2008, 5:31 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
National Journal magazine calls U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords key players in “The New Center,” a movement toward centralist politics. The first-term Democrats from
Arizona are pictured along with seven other first-term Dems on the cover of the March 8 edition above the headline “Center Stage.”
National Journal reporters Richard E. Cohen and Brian Friel, write, “The freshmen Democratic ‘majority makers’ are overwhelmingly moderate in the National Journal’s 2007 congressional vote ranking.” Hey, if nothing else, Cohen, Friel and their editors are pretty sharp at generating buzz phrases.
The magazine’s rankings, which have been compiled annually since 1981, were based in 2007 on 107 key votes selected by a panel of National Journal reporters and editors. The votes related to economic, social and foreign policy issues.
According to the National Journal, Mitchell earned a 54 percent liberal rating, which put him in 202nd place among all House members on the liberal scale; and a 46 percent conservative rating, which placed him in 228th place on the conservative scale.
In comparison, middle man Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., got a 50.3 percent liberal rating and a 49.7 percent conservative rating, which placed him in the 212th position on both scales.
Giffords came in slightly more liberal than Mitchell. She was 56.8 percent and 192nd on the liberal side; and 43.2 percent and 238th on the conservative side.
Democratic leaders have been careful to monitor the freshmen Democrats’ votes, according to Cohen and Friel. “They have become prime GOP targets, and their fates will go a long way in determining whether Democrats retain their house majority and by how much,” Cohen and Friel write.
“The freshmen know that every vote they cast could be used against them on the campaign trail. For the leaders, it’s a constant balancing act: seeking to satisfy and help the moderate first-termers politically, while not endangering the party agenda or alienating more-liberal caucus members,” they write.
I spoke to Mitchell about how comfortable he being plastered with all the political labels: The New Center, Center Stage, Majority Maker. I’ll post his comments Friday.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
If Mitchell and Giffords are the “New Center”, then the rest of the Democratic Party must be off the charts to the left. Mitchell votes in lock-step with the socialist Pelosi and has even managed to change his vote at after the gavel came down when he mistakenly voted other than what Queen Nancy wished.