Reality Check Time

Folks,

Its just my opinion, but it seems to me that following Tuesday's well deserved Ass Kicking, many on the right side of the blogsphere have gone off the deep end. Judging by the scorn I am seeing in comments - and in emails to me - there is a real irrational sense of just what will happen in DC over the next two years.

Its direction towards me seems to come solely from a post I put up a couple of weeks ago indicating that Jim Webb wouldn't be too bad on the gun issue. In fact, it could be argued he is the most in your face pro second amendment (it isn't about hunting) senator the nation has ever elected. Still, the scorn continues to come . . . as FREEPERS say he throws complete power to Nancy Pelosi (sorry, but she's in the House, not the Senate, perhaps Civics 101 is in order) and that he will simply fold up and capitulate to the party leadership in sending our guns to the foundry.

Bull shit.

Heck, what your gonna find is that no anti gun legislation is getting through the senate - indeed we might even be able to move pro gun legislation through (and withstand filibusters). No matter what the Nancy Pelosi House does, they will have to contend with this simple fact.

Add to the situation Pelosi's savy, Hillary's desire to win the White House, and the incredible amount of respect and deference Howard Dean is going to gain throughout the party as a result of his 50 state approach utilizing more ground troops and more conservative Democrats - and I don't think your gonna see much in the way of anti gun legislation moving very far in the 110th Congress.

Lets just take a quick stroll through who is going to be who in the US Senate come January 3 with a running total of where the gun votes will fall (pro-undecided-anti).

UPDATE

OK, we have some changes.

First, I changed Bill Nelson based upon a calm and articulate email someone sent me earlier today. My mistake.

I had one typo and had Claire McCaskil listed as a Republican. Ooooooohhh, I must be part of some evil conspiracy intent on destroying the free republic.

As to whether she is pro or anti gun, I've changed her to anti gun . . . but not because of anything anyone here posted in comments, rather because of this article that Says Uncle linked to.

Regarding Russ Feingold - he is one of the few sitting members of the Senate who has gone on record as saying the 2nd Amendment protects a fundamental individual right. Thats good enough for me, but apparntly not for others. So I've also moved him from Pro Gun to Middle.

There were some questions about NRA and GOA ratings. Since I have a family and a job (one in which I've worked an average of 16 hours in each day this week) and actually have a fairly active life outside this blog, excuse me for not have the time to also include all those ratings as well. If someone wants to match my analysis up with them, go ahead and be my guest. I'll get to it, but probably not this weekend.

In any case, those ratings are rather arbitrary figures meant to report how a certain candidate voted on a limited number of bills in the last legislative period (and also include a host of other - not so concrete - political calculations). My ratings - pro-middle-anti are based upon over a decade of working in DC on a number of issues and where I've seen the individual come down regarding second amendment as well as other issues (better to judge future voting patterns). There, now you know.

Got a problem with my analysis? Let me know in comments or by email.

And, yes, declaring the end of the world because you think the WORST CASE SCENARIO is 48 pro gun votes absolutly 100% proves my point.

Alabama
Richard Shelby (R) - pro gun
Jeff Sessions (R) - pro gun

2-0-0

Alaska
Ted Stevens (R) - pro gun
Lisa Murkowski (R) - pro gun

4-0-0

Arizona
John McCain (R) - sort of pro gun, but for the gun show thing. For the sake of not engaging in a debate that I don't think is productive, I'll list him as an anti, though he really isn't.
Jon Kyl (R) - pro gun

5-0-1

Arkansas
Blanche Lincoln (D) - in the middle
Mark Pryor (D) - in the middle

5-2-1

California
Dianne Feinstein (D) - as anti as you can get
Barbara Boxer (D) - as anti as you can get

5-2-3

Colorado
Wayne Allard (R) - pro gun
Ken Salazar (D) - pro gun

7-2-3

Connecticut
Christpher Dodd (D) - anti
Joseph Lieberman (D) - really in the middle somewhere, but like McCain, for the sake of not engaging in a meaningless argument I'll place him as an anti

7-2-5

Delaware
Joseph Biden (D) - anti
Thomas Carper (D) - middle

7-3-6

Florida
Bill Nelson (D) - anti
Mel Martinez (R) - pro gun

8-3-7

Georgia
Saxby Chambliss (R) - pro gun
Johnny Isakson (R) - pro gun

10-3-7

Hawaii
Daniel Inouye (D) - anti
Daniel Akaka (D) - anti

10-3-9

Idaho
Larry Craig (R) - pro gun
Mike Crapo (R) - pro gun

12-3-9

Illinois
Richard Durbin (D) - anti
Barack Obama (D)- anti

12-3-11

Indiana
Richard Lugar (R)- pro gun
Evan Bayh (D) - in the middle, but he wants to be president so he's gonna be more pro than against.

13-4-11

Iowa
Charles Grassley (R) - pro gun
Tom Harkin (D) - mildly anti gun, but I'm gonna put him in the middle

14-5-11

Kansas
Sam Brownback (R) - pro gun
Pat Roberts (R) - pro gun

16-5-11

Kentucky
Mitch McConnell (R) - pro gun
Jim Bunning (R) - pro gun

18-5-11

Louisiana
Mary Landrieu (D) - pro gun
David Vitter (R) - pro gun

20-5-11

Maine
Olympia Snowe (R) - middle
Susan Collins (R) - middle

20-7-11

Maryland
Barbara Mikulski (D) - anti
Benjamin Cardin (D) - anti

20-7-13

Taxachusetts
Voldermort (D) - anti
The Traitorous Lout (D) - anti

20-7-15

Michigan
Carl Levin (D) - anti
Debbie Stabenow (D) - anti

20-7-17

Minnesota
Norm Coleman (D) - middle
Amy Klobuchar (D) - middle (really unknown)

20-9-17

Mississippi
Thad Cochran (R) - pro gun
Trent Lott (R) - pro gun

22-9-17

Missouri
Kit Bond (R) - pro gun
Claire McCaskill (D) anti gun

23-9-18

Montna
Max Baucus (D) - pro gun
Jon Tester (D) - pro gun

25-9-18

Nebraska
Chuck Hagel (R) - pro gun
Ben Nelson (D) - pro gun

27-9-18

Nevada
Harry Reid (D) - pro gun
John Ensign (R) - pro gun

29-9-18

New Hampshire
Judd Gregg (R) - middle (historically pro, but I don't know if he holds off the flatlanders who are invading)
John Sununu (R) - see Gregg, above.

29-11-18

New Jersey
Frank Lautenberg (D) - asshole
Robert Menendez (D) - anti

29-11-21

New Mexico
Pete Domenici (R) - pro
Jeff Bingaman (D) - pro

31-11-21

New York
Chuck The Schmuck (D) - anti
The She Beast (D) - anti

31-11-22

North Carolina
Elizabeth Dole (R) - pro
Richard Burr (R) - pro

33-11-22

North Dakota
Kent Conrad (D) - middle
Byron Dorgan (D) - middle

33-13-22

Ohio
George Voinovich (R) - anti
Sherrod Brown (D) - anti

33-13-24

Oklahoma
James Inhofe (R) - pro
Tom Coburn (R) - pro

35-13-24

Oregon
Ron Wyden (D) - anti
GOrdon Smith (R) - middle

35-14-25

Pennsylvania
Arlen Specter (R) - anti
Bob Casey (D) - pro

36-14-26

Rhode Island
Jack Reed (D) - anti
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) - anti

36-14-28

South Carolina
Lindsey Graham(R) - pro
Jim DeMint (R) - pro

38-14-28

South Dakota
Tim Johnson (D) - middle
John Thune (R) - pro

39-15-28

Tennessee
Lamar Alexander (R) - pro
Bob Corker (R) - pro

41-15-28
(and congrats, the Ds can't defeat a filibuster of any anti gun legislation)

Texas>
Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R) - pro
John Cornyn (R) - pro

43-15-28

Utah
Orin Hatch (R) - pro
Robert Bennett (R) - pro

45-15-28

Vermont
Pat Leahy (D) - anti
Bernie Sanders (D) - anti (though actually surprisingly moderate for a socialist)

45-15-30

Virginia
John Warner (R) - anti
Jim Webb (D) - pro (maybe the strongest pro gun voice in the Senate and also the Ds new superstar - cause he gives them an illusion of having balls)

46-15-31

Washington
Patty Murray (D) - anti
Maria Cantwell (D) - anti

46-15-33

West Virginia
Robert Byrd (D) - middle
John Rockefeller (D) middle

46-17-33

Wisconsin
Herbert Kohl (D) - anti
Russ Feingold (D) - middle

46-18-34

Wyoming
Craig Thomas (R) - pro gun
Michael Enzi (R) - pro gun

48-18-34

There, feel better now??