ProgressOhio

Ohio delegation gets low clout rating

Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich, who in his second term remains a relative newcomer and now is consigned to the minority, is ranked by Congress.org as only the 95th most influential senator. 

What?  He's ranked so low because he's a "relative newcomer" then?

Voinovich came to office on January 6th 1999.

Only 55 Senators have been in Congress longer than George (and 6 of those (all fellow Republicans) have already announced their retirement this year and won't be back).

George is ranked dead last in his Elected Class of 1998 made up of 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans:

No, clearly he's not ranked so low because he's a "relative newcomer".

So it must be because he's "consigned to the minority", then?

Well, turns out George ranks 44th out of 48 Republicans in the Senate.

He beats out Larry Craig though (who was stripped by the Republicans of all committee assignments after his restroom adventures) and 3 Republican members who have far less tenure than George (2 elected in 2006).

"Reporter" or "Supporter"?

So why did Jonathan Riskind of The Dispatch's Washington Bureau feel the need to make up stuff to cover for George's miserably low power rank?

I mean the criteria the rankings are based upon is listed right there on the Congress.org website:

1) Position: How much power might the legislator wield through his/her position in the Congress by virtue of tenure, new committee assignments or new leadership position? This Power Category includes some new weightings for all committees, subcommittees, and leadership positions, taking into consideration the new majority or minority party status of the member.

2) Indirect Influence: How much power has the legislator demonstrated or may be capable of demonstrating to influence the congressional agenda or outcome of votes through the media or congressional caucuses.

3) Legislative Activity: How much power has the legislator demonstrated through the passage of legislation or shaping legislation through amendments thus far? The team eliminated from that data items which did not substantially change the bill or existing law. These included amendments dealing with technical changes or bills of a ceremonial or commemorative nature such as naming of post offices or other public buildings, or non-binding resolutions that expressed the "sense of the Congress."

4) Earmarks: This is a new criteria added to the 2008 Power Rankings as a result of Congress' decision in 2007 to make the earmarking process more transparent. How successful was the legislator at securing funds for local projects in his or her district or state?