Conservative Liberal Index 2007

The Conservative - Liberal Index

"by their Fruits shall ye know them"

Once again, the 2007 Voting Records of the Utah Legislature indicate 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. The Conservative - Liberal Index (CLI) is a compiled aggregate of various ratings to determine who is "truly" Conservative or "really" Liberal.

The Most Conservative Award for the THIRD consecutive year goes to Rep. Morley at 87.1; with Honorable Mention to Representatives Tilton, Frank, Dougall, Lockhart, Donnelson, Wimmer, Herrod, Oda, and Newbold.


Leader in the Senate was Senator Dayton (moving from the House); she edged out Senators Stephenson and Madsen at the top of the Senate list. (All were above 75)

The Most Liberal Award goes to Rep. Becker, with several Democrats vying for that coveted title; with Senator McCoy winning the Senate.

In past years, ALL Republicans had achieved a CLI higher than ALL Democrats. This year, the two highest Democrat (Gowans and Hendrickson) had a higher CLI's than theTWO lowest ranking Republicans (Allen and McIff)

All told, we might count 45 Conservatives (above 60), 32 Liberals (below 40) and 27 Mugwumps. (2006 showed 41/31/33) Some might declare that a balanced, moderate group, others might yearn for stronger principles.

There was, again, a change in 2007 of groups "rating" our Utah legislators. The UAR (realtors) have so many legislative members, they may have decided they didn't need to rate them for the last couple years. Accountability Utah seems to be no longer accountable.

The Deseret News may have (thankfully) dropped its "effective legislator" based on passing the most bills. They did however adopt a (somewhat) less inane grading report based on attendance.

Votes were finally taken in the House, allowing UFIRE to offer a rating, for that body, on illegal alien coddling issues. (Credit being given for trying). The Sierra Club analysis of voting also demonstrates the philosophical differences and was also added to the CLI.

Rating groups used:

GrsRts = GrassRoots ( http://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 ( http://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 (http://www.utahtaxpayers.org/ ) deals mainly with tax issues and "is a non-profit, non-partisan association working for greater efficiency and effectiveness in government."

UFIRE =Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement (http://www.ufire.net/) Illegal immigration issues

SIERRA = Sierra Club (http://www.utah.sierraclub.org/) "activists dedicated to preserving and enjoying the land and quality of life in Utah and the West. "

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

	GrsRts	GrsRts	UEA	GAY	UTA	UFIRE	Sierra
	Life	2007	2006	2007	2007	2007	2007	CLI
HOUSE
REPUBLICAN	58	53	54	11	76	79	49	62
DEMOCRAT	22	23	88	65	58	42	74	27
SENATE
REPUBLICAN	56	55	33	28	86		47	63
DEMOCRAT	20	24	87	70	70		64	26