Say you're a journalist and you're writing a story on the retirement of an 9-term congresswoman with:
- a lifetime American Conservative Union (ACU) score of 17.20
- a 100 percent pro-choice rating from NARAL
- a 0 percent score from National Right to Life
- a 95 percent liberal score for 2009 from Americans for Democratic Action
- an F grade by the NRA on gun rights
- an F grade on tax policy by the National Taxpayers Union
If you're the Washington Post, NPR, or Politico, among other news outlets, you call her a centrist.
To be fair, Harman is a relatively hawkish Democrat, a Joe Lieberman Democrat, but her positions on virtually everything else are solidly liberal.
