I am becoming a great fan of the Family Research Council. Many times they are a bit sensational for my taste, but at the core they are keeping an eye on just the sort of things I am most interested in.
I found the following on there website yesterday, and though I would share it. Have you ever considered the impact, on your average conservative, should the house change hands, as many are predicting, next month? The FRC put together a scorecard based on voting records for those who are current in, and slated to become committee chairs should the Democrats take the house.
The following scores are based upon 7 elements. They are as follows:
1.Voting on House Amendment 805 (H.AMDT.805) which would have removed a previous restriction on abortions being performed on Military facilities. The amendment was offfered by NJ Democrat Robert Andrews. This bill was not passed.
2.Voting on the Marriage Amendment Act (H.J.RES 88) which would provide federal protection to marriage as being between one man and one woman. The amendment was introduced by Colorado Republican Marilyn Musgrave. This bill was not passed.
3.Pledge Protection Act (H.R.2389) which would block the federal courts from ruling on cases involving the US Pledge of Allegiance, specifically its faith based content. This act was sponsored by Missouri Republican Todd Akin, and was passed by the house.
4.Embryonic Stem Cell Research Act (H.R. 810), which would have provided federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. This act was sponsored by Delaware Republican Michael Castle. The issue was struck down by a presidential veto, and subsequent decision in the house not to attempt to overturn that veto.
5.Child Interstate Abortion Act (S.403) which would prohibit transporting minors across state lines as a means of circumventing parental notification laws. This act was sponsored by Nevada Republican John Ensign, and passed a house vote last month.
6.Public Expression of Religion Act (HR 2679) which would block organizations like the ACLU from recovering legal fees in cases where they attack local, state, and federal governments over establishment cases. This act was sponsored by Indiana Republican John Hostettler, and passed a house vote last month.
7.Similar to number 2, scoring representatives who co-sponsored H.J.RES 88.
Overall I am happy with the scoring criteria. I think they hit the major issues of concern for conservatives, especially Christian conservatives. With that scoring model in mind, here is the score of current and Democratic Proposed House Committee Chairs:
Agriculture
Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) 100%
Peterson, Collin (D-MN) 100%Appropriations
Lewis, Jerry (R-CA) 71%
Obey, David (D-WI) 14%Armed Services
Hunter, Duncan (R-CA) 100%
Skelton, Ike (D-MO) 71%Budget
Ryun, Jim (R-KS) 100%
Spratt, John (D-SC) 42%Education & the Workforce
McKeon, Howard (R-CA) 85%
Miller, George (D-CA) 0%Energy & Commerce
Barton, Joe (R-TX) 85%
Dingell, John (D-MI) 0%Financial Services
Baker, Richard (R-LA) 100%
Frank, Barney (D-MA) 0%Government Reform
Davis, Thomas (R-VA) 71%
Waxman, Henry (D-CA) 0%Homeland Security
King, Peter (R-NY) 85%
Thompson, B. (D-MS) 28%International Relations
Leach, James (R-IA) 42%
Lantos, Tom (D-CA) 0%Judiciary
Coble, Howard (R-NC) 71%
Conyers, John (D-MI) 0%Resources
Pombo, Richard (R-CA) 57%
Rahall, Nick (D-WV) 85%Science
Hall, Ralph (R-TX) 100%
Gordon, Bart (D-TN) 57%Small Business
Bartlett, Roscoe (R-MD) 100%
Velazquez, N. (D-NY) 0%Transportation & Infrastructure
Petri, Thomas (R-WI) 85%
Oberstar, James (D-MN) 42%Veterans Affairs
Buyer, Stephen (R-IN) 100%
Filner, Bob (D-CA) 0%Ways & Means
McCrery, Jim (R-LA) 85%
Rangel, Charles (D-NY) 0%
The scores are a mixed bag, and interesting. You will notice that one Democrat did score 100%, and in two cases the Democratic chair score the same or better than the current Republican chair. You should also note that the overall trend is down sharply with 9 proposed chairs voting strait against every one of the above 7 items.
I will leave the interpretation of the data to you at this point.
If you would like more information, the complete FRC scorecard can be found here.
