Loebsack Most Un-Conservative

Loebsack Among Most Un-Conservative House Members

Dave Loebsack has a perfect score from the American Conservative Union--a perfect zero, that is.

The Mt. Vernon Democrat joins a cluster of 14 members, all class of 2006 members or special election winners from 2007-08, who had zero scores in 2008 and zero lifetime scores.

Loebsack was "wrong", from the conservative viewpoint, on 23 out of 25 votes rated, and missed two.

Sorting by 2008 score first, then breaking ties with lifetime scores, Bruce Braley is in a cluster tied at 86th least conservative, with a 2008 score of 4 percent (one "right" vote out of 25) and a career percentage of 2. Braley's one "conservative" vote, if you can call it that, was a No on the first version of the bailout bill in September.

Leornard Boswell ranks at 128th least conservative on my system. He has the same 4 percent score for 2008, but a different vote: Boswell joined conservatives in an NRA-showcase vote on District of Columbia gun rights. Boswell's 4 score, and an 8 in 2007, show a drop, from the conservative perspective, from his lifetime 27.5 score.

Republicans Steve King and Tom Latham won a "ACU Conservative" mention for scores between 80 and 99 percent. That's a notch below the 100 percent "Defenders of Liberty" group. King ranks 39th most conservative, while Latham is number 106.

King's one "blemish" was a Yes vote to override President Bush's veto of the farm bill. Latham also voted Yes on that vote and was wrong, from the ACU viewpoint, on the SCHIP veto override and renewable energy tax credits.

On the Senate side, Tom Harkin ranks as 21st least conservative with a 4 percent in 2008 and 8.46 lifetime. His one "right" vote was a No on a measure to speed up troop withdrawal from Iraq. Chuck Grassley ranks 28th most conservative, with a 76 score in 2008 and 83.13 lifetime.