Conservative Liberal Index 2006

The Conservative - Liberal Index

"by their Fruits shall ye know them"

2006 Voting records of the Utah Legislature indicate once again there is a difference between Republicans and Democrats.

For simplicity, Conservatives may be defined as in favor of LIMITED Government and PROTECTION of INDIVIDUAL rights and Liberals as in favor of ACTIVIST Government and PROVISION of GROUP rights.

Individually, ALL Republicans achieved a CLI higher than ALL Democrats. The Most Conservative Award for the second consecutive year goes to Rep. Morley at 85.1; with Honorable Mention to Representatives Dayton, Tilton, Hughes, Lockhart, Frank, Newbold and Donnelson and Senators Stephenson and Madsen at the top of the Senate list. (All were above 75)

The Most Liberal Award goes to Rep. Litvack at 17.5, with several Democrats vying for the position.

All told, we might count 41 Conservatives (above 60), 31 Liberals (below 40) and 33 Mugwumps. (2005 showed 47/27/30) Some might declare that a balanced, moderate group, others might yearn for stronger principles.

There was a change in 2006 of groups "rating" our Utah legislators. Voice for Moderation ratings were not available online. The Deseret News "effective legislator" was added as a replacement, but NOT used as a viable determinant in the CLI rating. The idea of the most effective legislator being the one passing the most bills goes against the grain of logic of limited government.

Rating groups used:

GrsRts = GrassRoots ( www.utahgrassroots.com ) claims: "Grass Roots is committed to the Principles of Limited Government, the State and U.S. Constitutions, Representative Government, Participatory Democracy, a Free Market Economy, Separation of Powers, and Family."

UEA = Utah Education Association ( www.utea.org ) declares their "mission is to advance the cause of public education by promoting quality teaching and learning and advocating effectively for the rights and interests of its members."

Gay = Gay Rights ( www.actwin.com/eatonohio/gay ) grades on the basis of hate crimes, same-sex marriage and "gay rights."

UTA = Utah Taxpayers Association (www.utahtaxpayers.org ) deals mainly with tax issues and "is a non-profit, non-partisan association working for greater efficiency and effectiveness in government."

DNews=Deseret News (www.deseretnews.com/photos/0326bigxgr.pdf) "Effective Legislator" NOT used in ratings, presented as information only.

UAR = Utah Association of Realtors (www.utahrealtors.com ) reports on issues dealing with real estate on property issues. Ratings used were from 2002 (or estimated) as 2003 is not yet available on the website.

AccUT = Accountability Utah (www.accountabilityutah.com ) "promotes government that is restrained, fair, open, and representative; an economy based on free market principles; and strong individuals and families."

Each have different criteria for their ratings, based on votes that those groups consider favor or oppose "their" particular issues. Please refer to the individual websites for bills considered and rating considerations which were used.

The Conservative - Liberal Index (CLI) is a compiled aggregate of those various ratings to determine who is "truly" Conservative or "really" Liberal.

	GrsRts	GrsRts	UEA	GAY	UTA	Dnews	UAR	AccUT	CLI
	Life	2006	2005	2006	2006	2006	2004	life 2005
HOUSE
Republicans	60	47	49	11	83	53	67	-38	62
Democrats	23	18	95	73	47	18	56	-61	23
SENATE
Republicans	55	49	40	35	93	60	88	-53	59
Democrats	20	13	79	79	68	40	55	-67	24

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