Most Liberal Republican Senators

[ringmastery]

Who are they? Any chance they would ever switch to the Dems or pull a Jeffords? I've always heard a lot about Olympia Snowe from Maine being very liberal for a republican. Also, Lincoln Chafee from Rhode Island. They vote more in line with the dems than Zell Miller, don't they?

[BayCityProgressive]

1. I doubt it

I think their "liberal" ideas are not their own but their constituencies. They would never win as center-right candidates so they move to the middle because they have to. I doubt Nancy Pelosi would be such a raging liberal if she didn't represent San Fransisco and John Edwards would probably much MORE liberal if he didn't live in Carolina. Remember, Nixon passed the Clean Air Act and tried to enact universal healthcare. It is all about the forces behind the politician.

[JI7]

2. lincoln chafee said not to rule out a switch

i remember during the whole jeffords thing, he was asked about whether he might do the same himself and while ican't remember his exact words he didn't rule it out and actually seemed to be in favor of it. i think if a switch right now would turn control to democrats again he would switch, but it wouldn't matter at the moment.

[Quahog]

11. That was Linc's point

I think he stays with the Rethugs to honor his dad, whose job he sort of "inherited." Chafee votes with the Dems about 98% of the time, and the other 2% is when the Dems are sucking up to bush* and Linc isn't.

But, he said he would only consider switching parties if doing so would make a difference in the control of the Senate. Right now, it wouldn't.

I would be surprised if anyone did any party switching prior to the '04 election. I mean, Chafee's not going to risk his career in RI if he switches, heck, we're something like 78% registered Dems here. But I'm not sure what the point would be of switching now.

[ShimokitaJer]

3. I forget where I found this, but here's a list of "moderate" Repubs

It may also be out of date, for all I know

SENATE
AK ... Ted Stevens
ME ... Susan Collins; Olympia Snowe
NM ... Pete Domenici
PA ... Arlen Specter
RI ... Lincoln Chaffee

HOUSE
AZ ... Jim Kolbe
CA ... Ken Calvert; Jerry Lewis; Buck McKeon; Devin Nunes
CT ... Nancy Johnson; Chris Shays; Robert Simmons
DE ... Mike Castle
FL ... Ginny Brown-Waite; Mark Foley; Porter Goss; E. Clay Shaw, Jr.; Dave Weldon IL ... Judy Biggart; Tim Johnson; Mark Kirk; Ray LaHood
IA ... Jim Leach
LA ... Jim McCrery
ME ... Doug Bereuter
MD ... Wayne Gilchrest
MI ... Dave Camp; Vern Ehlers; Fred Upton
MN ... Gil Gutknecht; Jim Ramstad
MO ... Jo Ann Emerson
NE ... Tom Osborne
NV ... Jon Porter
NH ... Charles Bass; Jeb Bradley
NJ ... Michael Ferguson; Rodney Frelinghuysen; Frank LoBiondo
NY ... Sherwood Boehlert; Amo Houghton; Sue Kelly; John McHugh; Jack Quinn; Jim Walsh
OH ... Paul Gillmor; Dave Hobson; Steve LaTourette; Bob Ney; Deborah Pryce; Ralph Regula
PA ... Phil English; Jim Greenwood; Todd Platts
VA ... Tom Davis
WA ... Jennifer Dunn
WV ... Shelley Moore Capito
WI ... Thomas Petri

[BayCityProgressive]

4. I live in Michigan

and Dave Camp is a Nazi. He is not moderate in the least.

[NewJeffCT]

5. I live in CT

And, don't consider Johnson and Simmons as moderates. Maybe not Far Right, but definitely not moderate. I consider Shays a moderate in the mold of the late Stu McKinney.

[ShimokitaJer]

8. Like I said, it's not my list

but I think it was based on the percentage of votes that were in accord with the Democratic majority. That leaves out factors like votes for ultra-conservative bills and personal championing of certain issues, of course. Plus, there's no acccounting for Republicans who occasionally vote pro-environment, anti-fundamentalist, etc., all of which could make the numbers swing them into the "moderate" category.

Don't ask me. I'm just the scribe.

[charlie]

9. I dunno about Ted Stevens

There doesn't seem to be a national park in Alaska or elsewhere that he isn't trying to open for logging and drilling. And when the GAO dropped its lawsuit over Cheney's energy task force notes, it was purportedly Stevens who delivered the message "back off, or we'll cut your budget."

[ameriphile]

13. I'd kick Pete Domenici off that list

Here's how he stands on a variety of issues:

http://www.issues2000.org/Social/Pete_Domenici_Principles_+_Values.htm

[adriennel]

6. my favorite republican

Olympia Snow for President!

I never thought of Spector as a moderate, though.

[QC]

7. Few things are more over-rated than "Republican Moderates"

They talk a nice game and people here drool over them an awful lot, but if they're such damn fine people, why is Bill Frist still the majority leader? Why can Bush appoint nutcases to the judiciary with impunity? Why is Rick Santorum a member of the Senate leadership?

Because those oh-so-enlightened "Republican Moderates" are keeping the radicals in charge of the Senate.

Screw 'em. They're as much responsible for this mess as George W. Bush and Tom Delay.

[ShimokitaJer]

10. Never underestimate party loyalty

Few Senators have Jeffords' integrity to abandon the security blanket of Congressional leadership in order to hold true to ideals.

Just look at the Democrats rolling over on IWR, campaign 2002, and the $87 billion, all to preserve the "stability" of the party. Politicians are by nature cowards.

[durutti]

12. About GOP "Moderates"

Pretty much all of them are still significantly further to the right than moderate Dems are to the left.