Harry Mitchell (front row, third from left) and Gabrielle Giffords (front row, fourth from left)

Democrat U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell said he’s comfortable with being labeled by National Journal magazine as one of the key players in the “The New Center” movement within the U.S. House.

The March 8 edition of the magazine bases the observation on its latest annual analysis of congressional votes. National Journal slotted Mitchell 13 spots left of center among 429 members of the House. The magazine didn’t rank the remaining members of the House because of missed votes.

Based on 100-point scale that measures the political ideological spectrum, Mitchell is 39 points more liberal than his predecessor, ousted Republican J.D. Hayworth, who received a 85 percent conservative rating the previous year, according to the magazine.

Similarly, fellow freshman Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords came in 22.5 points more liberal than her predecessor, retired Republican Jim Kolbe, who garnered a 65.7 percent conservative rating.

In fact, the House’s center is filled disproportionately with freshmen Democrats, according to the magazine.

The rankings seem accurate, Mitchell said. “It shows that – and I really believe this, too – the Democrat first-termers really are the middle of the road, the center. And most of them came from Republican districts, like myself,” he said.

Mitchell never exactly sought out the political center; it just worked out that way, he said. “I thought I represented my district. I voted with my district and that’s where it put me,” he said.

For example, Mitchell was one of six freshman Democrats to break with party leadership to oppose the Democratic budget resolution. Mitchell couldn’t support it because, in part, it failed to address an increase in government spending. He also co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., to extend President Bush’s cuts on capital gains taxes and estate taxes. 

While the magazine suggests the “majority makers” have a fair amount of clout within the House in general and the Democratic Party in particular, it doesn’t always feel that way, Mitchell said. He’s familiar with the so-called majority makers, but they certainly don’t act as a coalition by planning strategy together or deliberately voting together. 

“A lot of these people, I do talk to on the floor, just casually most of them,” he said. “I probably talk more to Gabby, because I served in the (Arizona) Senate with her.” 

Also, there’s inherent political risk associated with centralist politics, he said. “You get hit from people coming from the right and the left if you’re middle of the road. It’s like walking the double-yellow line, isn’t it?”

Congress.org’s latest annual Power Rankings of the members of Congress provides some interesting talking points concerning Arizona’s 10 member delegation.

First a little background: The deep thinkers behind the rankings score each member on a number of factors, including position, indirect influence, legislative activity, earmark passage and “sizzle/fizzle.”

Clearly, nearly all of that is subjective. For example, racking up federal expenditures for earmarks is considered a positive factor in the rankings. Congress.org’s deep thinkers associate earmark passage with political influence. Sure, there’s an argument to be made for that.

Of course, other deep thinkers associate earmark passage with self indulgence, wasteful spending and stains on congressional records. So, what of Sen. John McCain, and Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg who specifically don’t request earmarks? The Power Rankings knock their scores for that. 

Furthermore, Democrats get an automatic edge because they comprise the majority party in both the Senate and House and as a result will score higher in the position and legislative activity categories. That’s to be expected.

So with that preamble…

On the Senate side, Congress.org ranked Republicans McCain is 10^th and Jon Kyl 18^th, or second and third overall among Republicans. Interestingly, McCain’s presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barak Obama place ninth and 11^th in the Senate respectively.

Congress.org attributes McCain’s ranking in part to position as a ranking party member of a committee, his frequent media coverage, positive sizzle and for successfully amending bills.

He’s knocked for running for higher office, because doing so allegedly reduces or defuses his power to help current constituents. Other deep thinkers could offer the argument that emerging as his party’s nominee for president may give him a certain amount of added clout, but, of course, it’s Congress.org’s rankings so their deep thinkers get the final word.

Kyl should climb in coming years with the real and perceived power associated with his new No. 2 position in the GOP leadership team.

On the House side, Congress.org ranked Democrat Ed Pastor 84^th; Republican Shadegg 211^th, Democrats Raul Grijalva 246^th, Gabrielle Giffords 277^th and Harry Mitchell 334^th; and Republicans Jeff Flake 372^nd, Trent Franks 387^th and Rick Renzi dead last at 435^th.

Also of note, Renzi was the only member in either the Senate or House to get a negative score.

A report in Tuesday’s edition of Roll Call could be sobering for the Republican challengers seeking to oust Democratic U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell’s and Gabrielle Giffords in the fall.

Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress, reported that Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has a huge financial advantage against the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The committees direct political expertise, and more importantly funding, toward selected races nationwide. At least they do that most years.

Roll Call writer Nathan L. Gonzales reported that through 2007, the DCCC had collections of $35.1 million, while the NRCC had $5.4 million.

Gonzales wrote, “Both committees generally give first priority and focus to incumbents, followed by open seats and then challenger races. With a number of vulnerable incumbents and more than two dozen open seats to defend, GOP challengers shouldn’t expect much more than a pat on the back from their campaign committees.”

Using that formula, Arizona’s Republican incumbents Reps. Jeff Flake and Trent Franks will get first-priority funding, though in reality, they won’t need it because they’ll only face token opposition.

The second-priority funding will go to whichever candidates emerge from the GOP primaries for the open seats currently held by outgoing Republican Reps. John Shadegg and Rick Renzi.

The third-priority funding will go to the Republican challengers for Mitchell’s and Giffords seats, which could be competitive. That is, if there’s any funding left.

Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and NASA astronaut Mark Kelly put their high-flying careers on hold long enough to squeeze in a wedding ceremony on a farm in southern Arizona on Saturday.

The happy couple told Sierra Vista Herald reporter Cindy Skalsky they don’t plan an immediate honeymoon – he has a space mission set for April, while she has a re-election scheduled for November 2008.

About 300 family and friends attended the outdoor wedding in the Santa Cruz River Valley. “This was the biggest decision of my life. I love him so much,” Giffords told Skalsky.

For the record: While Giffords gained a husband, she didn’t pick up an extra constituent. Giffords is a Democrat who represents Tucson. Her new husband is an independent who is registered in Houston where trains with NASA.

Really, the Giffords-Kelly nuptials stretch the concept of long-distance relationships. Giffords, 37, commutes between Tucson and Washington, D.C. Kelly, 43, commutes between Houston and outer space.

The Herald’s story, “Congresswoman, astronaut tie knot: Wedding in rural setting has mix of cultures, traditions with an environmental mindset,” can be accessed here: Posted in CD 8 race, Gabrielle Giffords, Hard to classify | Comments Off