Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) has labored to position herself as a moderate - at least rhetorically - as she prepares to run for President in 2008, following her all but certain Senate re-election in November. But now the non-partisan (albeit increasingly liberal) Congressional Quarterly has demonstrated she is really as far left as the typical Massachusetts liberal. Her 2005 voting record, says CQ, was almost indistinguishable from the those of Senators Teddy Kennedy and John Kerry.
CQ looked at 229 Senate votes to see how often each senator voted with the majority of his party. Kennedy voted with the majority of Democrats 100% of the time. Kerry voted the party line 97%; Hillary, 96%. By contrast, Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, who is seeking re-election in Nebraska, followed the party line on only 46% of the votes.
