Club for Growth scorecards

on

United States Capitol, July 2011
United States Capitol, July 2011
Organizations like Club for Growth produce scorecards of legislators. I’ve gathered results from Club for Growth for all years available and present them in an interactive visualization.

You may select which members to show. By clicking on a member’s name in the legend, their line will be highlighted from the others.

Scorecards such as these and others, including the ones that I’ve personally constructed, have caveats. For example, some members have not been in office very long. Issues in which you have an interest may not have been voted on during the member of interest’s tenure. Or, the vote may not have been a recorded vote, which is common. Also, the mere fact of a vote for or against a bill does not measure or account for leadership on the issue, or intensity of interest and involvement. I’ve not seen scorecards that incorporate work and votes in committees, which is an important part of legislating.

Using the visualization.
Using the visualization.
Further, the selection of votes to be included is an issue. Organizations that create scorecards generally have issues that are important to them, and may focus on a subset of issues to the exclusion of all others.

To use the visualization I created, click here to open it in a new window. A nearby illustration shows how to use it.

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