Lawmaker Ratings
‘Tis the season,for ratings.
This is the season for the ratings from various interest groups on all of us lawmakers. While they may not be perfect from year to year, taken as a whole and looked at over time, they can be a valuable guide to the difference between the political parties and between individual members of the same party.
Looking at the Orange County delegation, it can be rather illuminating to observe the vast gulf between Democrats and Republicans and the lesser differences between Republicans themselves.
Let’s check out some of the ratings.
California Chamber of Commerce: This is a basic measure of how pro-business a lawmaker is, defined here as being against higher taxes and more regulations.
State Assembly
Bob Huff, Republican: 100%
Chuck DeVore, Republican: 100%
Mimi Walters, Republican: 100%
Lynn Daucher, Republican: 92%
Todd Spitzer, Republican: 92%
Van Tran, Republican: 92%
Tom Harman, Republican: 91%
Tom Umberg, Democrat: 33%
Rudy Bermudez, Democrat: 17%
State Senate
Dick Ackerman, Republican: 93%
John Campbell, Republican: 93%
Bill Morrow, Republican: 93%
Bob Margett, Republican: 86%
Joe Dunn, Democrat: 13%
Lambda Letters Project Ratings: This is a measure of how often a lawmaker votes for the agenda of this liberal social-issues group that emphasizes homosexual rights.
Mimi Walters, Republican: 13%
Chuck DeVore, Republican: 18%
Bob Huff, Republican: 19%
Tom Harman, Republican: 22%
Todd Spitzer, Republican: 25%
Van Tran, Republican: 29%
Lynn Daucher: 34%
Tom Umberg, Democrat: 95%
Rudy Bermudez, Democrat: 98%
John Campbell, Republican: 11%
Dick Ackerman, Republican: 13%
Bill Morrow, Republican: 22%
Bob Margett, Republican: 40%
Joe Dunn, Democrat: 99%
California Farm Bureau: This rating purports to measure support for “family farms.” The bureau is generally pro-business, but sometimes there are splits between urban and rural lawmakers.
State Assembly
Chuck DeVore, Republican: 93%
Mimi Walters, Republican: 93%
Lynn Daucher, Republican: 93%
Todd Spitzer, Republican: 93%
Van Tran, Republican: 93%
Tom Harman, Republican: 87%
Rudy Bermudez, Democrat: 13%
State Senate
Dick Ackerman, Republican: 100%
John Campbell, Republican: 100%
Bob Margett, Republican: 93%
Bill Morrow, Republican: 86%
Joe Dunn, Democrat: 14%
As you can see, the biggest spread among Republicans in any of these ratings was 29%, and that still was barely half of the smallest gap (54%) between any Republican and Democrat.
Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman
Irvine
