Swing State Project

« Vote in John Edwards' One America Committee Competition | Main | Who's Turning New Hampshire Blue? »

Friday, July 28, 2006

MN-Sen: You Can't Hide From CQ

Posted by DavidNYC

So Republican Mark Kennedy has his first ad up on TV, which suggests to me that this long-dormant race is about to heat up. Especially with recent polling tilting toward Democrat Amy Klobuchar to a startling degree, Kennedy can't afford to remain quiet any longer. And with the GOP about as appealing as a twenty-pound goiter these days, it's no surprise that Kennedy is touting his "independence."

But as Pat Kessler of WCCO is quick to point out, you cannot hide from CQ. In fact, it's easier to fight City Hall or make a horse drink water than it is to hide from Congressional Quarterly's presidential support rankings. And Mark Kennedy is no exception:

2005: 87%
2004: 97%
2003: 97%
2002: 97%
2001: 86%

What do these numbers refer to? Well, every time the president takes a "clear position" on a piece of legislation, CQ tracks whether legislators vote for or against it. So over the first five years of his House career, Mark Kennedy voted for George Bush's preferred position 93% of the time.

Kennedy can squawk about his vaunted "independence" as much as he likes. But as the famous line from the Princess Bride goes, I do not think that word means what he thinks it means.

Posted at 03:30 PM in 2006 Elections - Senate, Minnesota | Technorati

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.swingstateproject.com/mt/mt-track-ssp.cgi/2470

Comments

Klobuchar's been airing two well-received ads for the nearly three weeks now. I wonder how long it'll take for the race to devolve into a mudslinging slugfest. My guess is before Labor Day. Klobuchar's campaign newsletter just said she's gonna be bombarding the state with yard signs as well, which should make my late summer/early fall road trips more exciting.

Last weekend, I already saw a ton of Mike Hatch for Governor signs in very remote rural areas, and wrote about it on my blog. Imagine my surprise on Thursday morning when Mike Hatch's online newsletter references my obscure blog and recommends readers "take a look at what others are saying about our organization."

Posted by: Mark at July 28, 2006 04:45 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I thought that had to be you, Mark.

I strongly suggest to all readers, inside Minnesota and out, that keeping an eye on the local blogs is a good idea. There's a lot of great work going on, in terms of eloquence, humor, and strong factual coverage of the goings-on in the North Star State.

Posted by: JelloAbode at July 28, 2006 07:24 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment