An analysis of Chris Carney's voting record

John Peeler has just put together an analysis of Chris Carney's voting record that finds that Carney is a centrist and (surprise) neither as conservative as Don Sherwood nor as liberal as Nancy Pelosi (or even Bob Casey Jr.).



CHRIS CARNEY: Right Down the Middle

John Peeler

Representative Chris Carney (D-10), a year into his first terms and running for reelection, is portrayed by his Republican opponents as a "Nancy Pelosi liberal," even as many liberal Democrats express disappointment–and even anger–at how conservative he is. The respected, nonpartisan National Journal (March 8, 2008) has just come out with its annual ideological ratings of members of Congress, based on hundreds of votes during 2007. Now we can say with some assurance that Carney is neither a Pelosi clone nor a copy of his conservative Republican predecessor, Don Sherwood.

Overall, Carney was more liberal than 49.7 percent of House members (mostly Republicans). This centrist record held across all issue areas: he was more liberal than 52 percent of members on economic issue, 47 percent on social issues, and 49 percent on foreign policy issues.

By comparison, neighboring Democratic representatives were also moderate (Holden, 53.2 percent; Kanjorski, 57.3; Murtha, 61.2) while neighboring Republicans were notably more conservative (Peterson, 21.2; Shuster, 17.0). Carney's predecessor, Don Sherwood, scored 25.5 in 2006. Among House freshmen, Carney had the fourth lowest liberalism score among Democrats, but he was still 24 points more liberal than Sherwood. Carney's record is very close to the moderate Republican Senator Arlen Specter (45.5) and more conservative than Senator Bob Casey (71.2). Carney is much more conservative than Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD, 79.2).

Carney's centrism is not unique: the magazine's cover features him with eight other congressional freshmen. A feature article argues that the freshmen elected in 2006, particularly those in predominantly Republican districts, are, like Carney, distinctly moderate in their voting records. Carney and the other centrists have frequently had to buck the party line: Carney said, "I have no hesitation when I vote against the party view if it conflicts with the values of my district."

In his first year, Carney has systematically worked to establish a voting record consistent with the relatively conservative district he represents. In doing so, he has displeased many of his more liberal supporters, while he is certainly not conservative enough for his Republican opponents (who think they still own the district). It remains to be seen whether he is conservative enough for the majority of voters in the 10th District, but it is hard to imagine how he could be much more liberal and still win reelection.