Politico Erroneously Tags Retiring Rep. Dan Boren as 'Conservative Democrat'
Whether it's deliberate obfuscation or just plain laziness is up for debate, but the media have a penchant for misleading news consumers with the meme that Blue Dog Democrats are politically "conservative." While the Blue Dog caucus is decidedly more moderate than Democrats as a whole -- you could individual members are "conservative for a Democrat" -- they rarely if ever qualify as conservatives when you look at the entirety of their voting records.
Take Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.), who on Tuesday announced he will not seek reelection in 2012. Noting that "Another Blue Dog bites the dust," Politico staffers Alex Isenstadt and David Catanese noted that "one more conservative House Democrat is packing it in," which is just "the latest blow to the party’s moderate-conservative wing, a faction that is beginning to look like the nearly extinct Gypsy moth Republicans of the Northeast."
But a look at Boren's American Conservative Union scores shows he's moderate at best, with a lifetime average ACU score of 49.83 percent (100% being pure conservative and 0% being pure liberal). What's more, in the first two years of Obama's terms, Boren has trended more liberal than his lifetime average, with 44 and 38-percent scores for 2009 and 2010 respectively.
It's also instructive that other Blue Dogs that Isenstadt and Catanese quoted -- former Reps. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) -- also had dismally-low ACU scores.
Tanner's lifetime score was 39.40 conservative but his 2009 and 2010 scores were below that average at 20 and 17 respectively. Pomeroy had single-digit scores in the Obama era, eight and four in 2009 and 2010 respectively, well below his already liberal 21.18 percent lifetime average.
Tanner and Boren both voted against final passage of ObamaCare, whereas Pomeroy voted for it.
- Ken Shepherd's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
There were quite a few conservative Democrats at one time.
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 11:52am.
Unfortunately, they are all dead. The Conservative Manifesto of 1937 --
+++
According to Moore, the Conservative Manifesto’s ten points were as follows:
1. Immediate revision of taxes on capital gains and undistributed profits in order to free investment funds.
2. Reduced expenditures to achieve a balanced budget, and thus, to still fears deterring business expansion.
3. An end to coercion and violence in relations between capital and labor.
4. Opposition to “unnecessary” government competition with private enterprise.
5. Recognition that private investment and enterprise require a reasonable profit.
6. Safeguarding the collateral upon which credit rests.
7. Reduction of taxes, or if this proved impossible at the moment, firm assurance of no further increases.
8. Maintenance of state rights, home rule, and local self-government, except where proved definitely inadequate.
9. Economical and non-political relief to unemployed with maximum local responsibility.
10. Reliance upon the American form of government and the American system of enterprise
Yep, including the sacred
Submitted by Boudin on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:33pm.
Kennedy, and I dont mean Ted!
Liberal Party
Submitted by djaymick on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 12:07pm.
As much as the MSM wants to project that the Republican Party is being "hijacked" by the Tea Party, this is an example of how the Democratic Party has been hijacked by the Liberals, Socialists and Communists. They know that to continue in this party, they will need to tote the liberal agenda.
"As much as the MSM wants to
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 3:06pm.
"As much as the MSM wants to project that the Republican Party is being 'hijacked' by the Tea Party, this is an example of how the Democratic Party has been hijacked by the Liberals, Socialists and Communists."
What on earth are you on about? Boren isn't retiring because of "liberals, socialists and communists"; he's retiring because he's in a Republican district, facing an uphill battle, and doesn't think he can win reelection. The Democratic party apparatus supports candidates like Boren.
What earth are---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 8:15pm.
you on?
Is Boren a close relative of yours, who whispers in your ear?
If not; you speculate.
Speculate in one hand, load manure in the other hand; see which one fills up first.
MD
"If not; you speculate." But
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:11pm.
"If not; you speculate."
But someone who says he is leaving because "the Democratic Party has been hijacked by the Liberals, Socialists and Communists" isn't speculating at all. Got it.
The Democratic Party has indeed been---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:19pm.
hijacked by "the Liberals, Socialists and Communists".
That is not speculation.
Where have you been?
MD
Yep
Submitted by Boudin on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:39pm.
It will be perfectly clear to all libtards after the next election!
CL2
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 8:39pm.
.
Liberal wolves in conservative sheep's clothing
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 12:15pm.
Blue Dog Democrats are simply liberal Democrats who don't want to admit it! While they put on conservative sheep's clothing, their voting records reveal that they are good little liberals. While they may not be as leftist as their colleagues, they're still liberal. Don't let the make believe media fool you.
There are many of us here
Submitted by bassndude on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 12:27pm.
There are many of us here that are glad to see Boren go. His district has become much more conservative in the last few years, and I really don't think he could have won again.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
Dan Boren is my district
Submitted by okie-pastor on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 12:56pm.
Dan Boren is my district congressman. I attended the district republican meeting this year. I am the co captian from my section. One tea party memberthat was there said he went to Bacone College graduation here in Muskogee (home of Tom Coburn as well). And said after the graduation was over. People were standing all around Boren basically with their hands out wanting this and wanting that. Pathetic.
He is smart enough to realize conservatives rule this district and this state. I reached his D.C. office during the Obamacare vote (which he voted against) to tell him to vote against it. But it pains him that he has to vote against his convictions to get re-elected. He is not hard left (he supports gun rights and is pro life) but he would support bigger government in a heart beat, if he knew the district wouldn't vote him out for it. At our last republican meeting we are looking to run a smart conservative named Charles Thompson. But we will see. He lost last time. But I think he has a shot.
As a pastor myself, I can tell you that in many places, there are more churches than there are houses. The evangelical vote is huuuuge here. And the clergy are conservative and are openly speaking out about the direction of the democrat party going away from traditional values..
A conservative Democrat
Submitted by HockeyKid on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 12:46pm.
is much like a fast snail.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Let me add this
Submitted by okie-pastor on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 11:40am.
There are only three ways a Democrat can win Boren's seat
1) Run as a conservative
2) Run as a conservative
or
3) Run as a conservative
A person can run on a conservative platform and be as liberal as they want to be once elected. that is the danger of voting democrat! I can't remember the guys name but there was one that was following Obama's theme of hope and change when the 'hopenchange' hysteria was at it s highest and the guy got destroyed by Republican John Sullivan (OK-1)! Lol! This is the reddest state around. even oklahoma democrats are calling Limbaugh for advice on who to run for this seat. LOL LOL LOL
Blue Dog Democrats...
Submitted by Conservator on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 1:01pm.
...have no place in the Democratic Party. If they want to gain more responsibility by aspiring to become a Chairman of a committee for example, then they must support the leftist/progressive policies of the Democratic Party. Blue Dogs would fair better in the Republican Party where moderates (aka RINOs) actually have power, like McCain and Lugar.
I'm generally very critical
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 2:54pm.
I'm generally very critical of interest-group ratings such as those from the American Conservative Union used in the article above--they're practically always based on a handful of issues cherry-picked by the group to produce pre-determined outcomes (and this is the case with the ACU ratings)--but they can be useful in a conversation of this sort. To wit:
"Blue Dogs would fair better in the Republican Party where moderates (aka RINOs) actually have power, like McCain and Lugar."
By no reasonable definition can either of these senators be called "moderates" or anything other than conservative. Their records simply won't support any other characterization. The ACU ratings support this conclusion. "Moderate" Richard Lugar has a 77.08% lifetime rating, while "moderate" John McCain is at 82.61%. Labeling them "RINOs" (if a RINO is to be defined as someone who departs from conservative orthodoxy) requires an obsession with ideological purity that has tipped into outright fanaticism.
When it comes to your larger point, I would suggest, as substitute examples, the ladies from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Their records would allow a basis for characterizing them as "moderates," and their ACU numbers show this. Snowe has a 48.39% lifetime ACU rating, while Collins stands at 50.47%.
(Being ranked in the dead-center of the spectrum by a very conservative group like the ACU still means they look pretty conservative, but their numbers at least support a characterization of "moderate." That's how to use interest-group ratings--as evidence to support a proposition. They are problematic as the basis for one, though.)
You could have saved a lot of time and space---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 8:21pm.
by saying in your first, and only, sentence; - "I'm very critical of American conservatives."
At least for once you would have been truthful.
MD
MD
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 8:25pm.
There you go, you've mastered the put down of a liberal without cursing. Well done.
Sadly, CL2 won't appreciate the effort. For that one, cursing is justified.
Thanks, Rad---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 8:31pm.
Ah, the Yin and Yang of philosophical discourse, meeting with friends over a post, and kicking some liberal arse !
Life is good. :o)
MD
"you've mastered the put down
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:14pm.
"you've mastered the put down of a liberal without cursing."
A pity, though, that he's entirely incapable of accompanying his put-downs with something that actually addresses the subject on the table.
cl2
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:24pm.
For a troll who ignores it when he's proven wrong and likes to change the argument when he's losing, I'd say you aren't in any position to criticize MD. You're actually in the position of Anthony Weiner, but still not admitting your errors.
Once more to the fore with the same tired old ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:26pm.
liberal crap.
You ding-dongs spout the same stuff over and over and over; get hammered for your idiocy, and then moan and groan and bewail the 'fact' that conservatives won't debate, discuss,or conduct any rational discourse because all we do is name call.
Well, at least in my case you are right about the name calling, you thick skulled moron.
MD
Most of us understand "conservative Democrat"--
Submitted by Jer on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 3:33pm.
just like "liberal Republican"--is a relative term and particularly so when viewed in the context of voting patterns established by congressional ratings services. Boren is ranked by the ADA the third most conservative Democrat in the US Congress. Poltico's description was entirely appropriate.
Jer
So which description works best for---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 8:26pm.
ol' Joe Scarborough?
LR = Liberal Republican ?
-or-
CD = Conservative Democrat ?
Personally, I think "PP" defines both his life and political philosophy best.
PP - Phony Putz.
MD
The correct (and only sane)
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:04pm.
The correct (and only sane) designation for Joe Scarborough is EC--Extremely Conservative. While in congress, he received a lifetime rating of 95% from the American Conservative Union.
"When" in Congress is past tense---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 9:42pm.
as related to Joe Scab, fool.
Go get a real life dictionary and look up 'EC' under Scarboroughs' name.
It stands for both Extremely Commercialized and Eternally Confused.
Liberals are repetitively tiresome, classicliberal, but you have added the category of goofy to your personal nomenclature, as you just stated a couple posts north of here that you are "generally very critical of the ACU".
You also used the phrase, "cherry-picking", as a slam, earlier.
Different when you are the one cherry picking, eh?
MD
"'When' in Congress is past
Submitted by classicliberal2 on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 11:06pm.
"'When' in Congress is past tense as related to Joe Scab, fool."
Actually, I wrote "while in congress," but it pretty much means the same thing, and I wouldn't slam you for getting that wrong were it not for what you wrote next. Meanwhile, if you want to make the case that Joe Scarborough has, since leaving congress, completely changed his EXTREMELY conservative politics, you're certainly free to do so. He certainly hadn't changed them when he was on in prime-time (they were, in fact, what got him hired at MSNBC).
"you have added the category of goofy to your personal nomenclature, as you just stated a couple posts north of here that you are 'generally very critical of the ACU'."
To the contrary, you'll find no such comment from me "a couple posts north of here" or anywhere on this site, so your reading comprehension skills are about as solid as ever. My criticism was of interest-group ratings, and the ACU was discussed because Ken Shepherd had cited the ACU's ratings.
"You also used the phrase, 'cherry-picking', as a slam, earlier."
Interest groups that offer ratings of members of congress generally cherry-pick issues in exactly the way I described. Americans for Democratic Action, the long-lived liberal group, does the same thing. The ratings offered by such groups are usually not the comprehensive survey of a pol's career they seem to be.
What part of you are finished escapes you?
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 11:45pm.
No one is going to listen to a known liar. You had one chance. Same as all of us. You are an anonymous moniker. Same as everyone here. It is the great equalizer. It matters not your race, sex, income, culture, religion. None of it matters. The only thing that matters is brutal honesy. AND YOU BLEW IT. You had your chance. You thought lying to us would be a better route than researching and presenting the truth on a topic. Yes, it is an easy route to go. But one that can blow up right in your face by people that actually do research something before they speak.
Now Shut Up and Go Away. We do not tolerate KNOWN LIARS.
When and while are indeed, close enough---
Submitted by matthewdean on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 12:00am.
for government work; as in your case are liar, prevaricator, and dumb assed pseudo-intellectual liberal.
A classic fool, you are; spouting garbazz and then cracking wise about another's reading comprehension skills, especially since all you have ever brought to these threads are liberal bullshit talking points.
You, classicliberal, are truly a classicliberal because you are a phony.
MD
Boren ran as a conservative
Submitted by okie-pastor on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 11:35am.
Boren ran as a conservative and won. But The focus should not be on Boren, but on what the people of his district (like myself) want. And since I know great deal about this area I can tell you that the only politician that wins His seat will be the most conservative. Around here, conservatives beat liberals. Period! It is never even close! And I am glad!
I believe Boren and Politico's description is the subject
Submitted by Jer on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 4:36pm.
of this thread, Matthew. Why not stick to it. I'm sure Scarborough will come up again in about a hundred other threads over the next few months.
Jer
Why don't you take your suggestions, Jer,---
Submitted by matthewdean on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 10:37pm.
fold 'em five ways, and stick 'em where the sun don't shine.
And I'm sure your unhappy liberal ass will be right there over the next few months, defending Scarborough, a pluperfect ass.
A match made in heaven.
I doubt seriously that thread protocol is absolute law, but even if it were, rest assured, you ain't got the weight, spiritually, intellectually, morally, or legally, to keep me from posting what I choose, where I choose.
Quit trying to act the pushy protagonist for all things proper.
You're a liberal.
You ain't got the chops for it.
MD