The Maryland League of Conservation Voters has released their 2010 scorecard for the Maryland General Assembly. The only HoCo state legislator to receive a 100% ranking from the supposedly non partisan organization is Delegate Liz Bobo.
I say supposedly because the ranking differential between the Repubs and the Dems is so lopsided it strains credibility. On the average, House of Delegates Dems earned a ranking of 89% while Repubs earned a ranking of 46%. In the Senate, the average score for Dems was 68% while the average score for Repubs was 25%.
In his blog, Delegate Mike Smigiel, an eastern shore Repub, points up a major flaw in the leagues methodology.
"The League of Conservation Voters is only counting the first vote on bills and not the later vote on the same bill, after amendments, which is passed and then sent to the governor for his signature, where it then becomes law. It would seem if your intent is tell the public where a legislator is on the environment it would be better to tell them where he or she ended up and not where they started out. It is much more likely that Democrats would vote for a bill that is full of what Republicans may consider to be excessive regulations or taxes when it is first introduced. It is usually after a public hearing and an opportunity to amend bills in committee and on the floor that Republicans would come on board and find that the bill, having gone through compromise, is now acceptable."
Not surprisingly, Senator Alan Kittleman gets one of the lowest rankings from MLCV. His 2010 score was 10%. I wonder if that has anything to do with his staunch support of the poultry industry.
A Moment to Remember
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