The fallacy of "most liberal senator"

[thesquanderer]

One of the things tossed about--and sure to be increasingly thrown at Obama as we get closer to November--is his ranking as "the most liberal Senator." Something I haven't seen mentioned is the context.

That ranking is determined by how they voted on Senate bills.

But here's the thing... Under the current administration, there haven't been any truly liberal bills to vote on, no serious liberal bills ever make it to the floor!

So while the ranking does tell you how often someone voted against conservative positions, it does not tell you how liberal they truly are, as they essentially never even had the opportunity to vote on a genuinely liberal issue.

Saying someone is "most liberal" in this environment is kind of like saying someone is the tallest person on an island of Pygmies. It really doesn't give you any indication of how tall they are in a broader sense.

EDIT: I should have included the source for the oft-cited ranking, here it is
http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/

[enid602]

1. Seinfeld

Kind of like the Seinfeld episode on 'the show about nothing.'

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Bernie Sanders is the most liberal Senator.

There is no debating it.

[Orrex]

3. Or like the "most honest Republican"

Seriously, you make a good point. The "most Liberal" is obviously subjective and dependent upon context. More accurately, they should describe Obama as the "most center-left Senator."

[TwilightGardener]

4. Apparently the National Journal decides that whomever is going to be

the Dem nominee in an election year automatically is to be designated "most liberal", as an insult.

[TahitiNut]

5. Yup.

The notion that it's a perjorative is disgusting. The claim that Obama is "most liberal" is totally specious.

[thesquanderer]

10. "most" is the bigger problem, not "liberal"

re: "The notion that it's a perjorative is disgusting"

Yes, but it will definitely be used that way in the general election, and some people will definitely respond to it. It's not just a matter of whether "liberal" is a negative word to many these days, but the real damage, as it were, is from the word "most." Because the huge group that consider themselves moderate/centrist will tend to react badly to any extreme, to the "most" anything, whether it's the most conservative or the most liberal.

[Butch350]

6. The fallacy of "most liberal senator"

The term "liberal" has multiple meanings. Are you referring to spending, taxing, giving free
welfare for the poor.

Just what term are you using to define "liberal"

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. did kennedy or kerry die? whatever happened to sanders?

[TwilightGardener]

8. How about Feingold? Or Boxer? Jesus.

[Secret_Society]

9. GovTrack.us ranks HRC as more liberal

[chill_wind]

11. A much needed point. And they will try to run that old saw into the ground.

It has been very effective, for a long time. Time to get ready, once again for the tiresome GOP SOP/SOS.

K&R