Keeping score

By Derek Simmonsen
Posted: June 12, 2009

I recently got a press release about the latest legislative rankings from Maryland Business for Responsive Government, which describes itself as a non-partisan organization seeking to improve the state’s business climate.

Del. Warren Miller and state Sen. Allan Kittleman, both Republicans, received 100 percent ratings on the organization’s legislative scorecard. The scorecard tracks votes on business-related issues, ranging from electric rates to using eminent domain to keep the Preakness in Maryland.

What stands out is where our local legislative delegation’s Democrats fared in the rankings.

State Sen. Edward Kasemeyer received the highest rating, 60 percent, but the rest of the Democratic delegation almost all came in at 20 percent.

Now you could argue that Republicans are business-friendly and Democrats aren’t, but the sharp contrast between the two sides make it seem far more like a partisan exercise.

There are a lot of these legislative scorecards out there and they almost all seem to fall into this similar pattern.

The Restaurant Association of Maryland? It ranked Kittleman and state Del. Gail Bates (also a Republican) at the top, with 100 percent ratings based on their votes on issues such as trans fat legislation and menu labeling.

At the bottom were Kasemeyer and state Sen. James Robey, Democrats who clocked in at 33 percent.

But it’s not just Republicans who do well in these types of rankings. The Maryland League of Conservation Voters didn’t have its 2009 scorecard ready yet, but its 2008 rankings were divided sharply by party.

Del. Elizabeth Bobo (a Democrat) had a 100 percent rating and Kasemeyer was at 90 percent, while Kittleman clocked in at a lowly 7 percent.

I shudder as I think about the way these ratings will be used in future campaigns.

You know the drill already: “Elizabeth Bobo voted against 80 percent of bills that would help businesses in Maryland … Allan Kittleman voted 9 times out of 10 against bills that support the environment.”

I’m sure both would disagree with those assessments and have reasons for why they voted the way they did. But we all know nuance is not what electoral campaigns are about.

Knowing how legislators vote is useful information and if you happen to agree with one of these organizations, then I’m sure these scorecards are quite useful.

But it’s also quite easy to twist these rankings around. As we get closer and closer to the 2010 election cycle, just remember that the numbers don’t always tell the whole story.

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