Who REALLY support our troops?

**Jeeperrr** · November 5th, 2006, 11:05 PM

The Iraq-Afghanistan Veterans of America group studies how members of Congress vote and assigns a "grade" to each. Here's a description of how the IAVA makes its assessments, followed by a list of grades. You will find McCain under Arizona, Hastert under Illinois, and Kerry under Massachusetts.

"Each IAVA Congressional Rating is based on a given legislator's voting history on issues that affect US Troops, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and military families.

"To calculate the Ratings, IAVA reviewed all legislation voted on in the Congress since September 11, 2001. For each piece of legislation that affected troops, veterans or military families, IAVA took a position either in support of, or in opposition to its passage. The letter grades were derived from the percentage of times that each legislator's vote matched the official IAVA stance."

State Grade

Alabama
Rep. Robert B. Aderholt C+
Rep. Spencer Bachus C+
Rep. Jo Bonner C
Rep. Robert E. Cramer, Jr. A-
Rep. Artur Davis A-
Rep. Terry Everett C
Rep. Michael D. Rogers C
Senator Jeff Sessions F
Senator Richard C. Shelby D

Alaska
Senator Lisa Murkowski D
Senator Ted Stevens D
Rep. Don Young C+

Arizona
Rep. Jeff Flake D
Rep. Trent Franks C-
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva C+
Rep. J.D. Hayworth C+
Rep. Jim Kolbe C
Senator Jon L. Kyl D-
Senator John McCain D
Rep. Ed Pastor B+
Rep. Rick Renzi C+
Rep. John B. Shadegg C-

Arkansas
Rep. Marion Berry B+
Rep. John Boozman C+
Senator Blanche L. Lincoln B+
Senator Mark Pryor B
Rep. Mike Ross A-
Rep. Vic Snyder A-

California
Rep. Joe Baca A-
Rep. Xavier Becerra B+
Rep. Howard L. Berman A-
Rep. Mary Bono C+
Senator Barbara Boxer B+
Rep. Ken Calvert C
Rep. John Campbell F
Rep. Lois Capps B+
Rep. Dennis Cardoza A-
Rep. Jim Costa B+
Rep. Susan A. Davis A-
Rep. John T. Doolittle C-
Rep. David Dreier C
Rep. Anna Eshoo B
Rep. Sam Farr B-
Senator Dianne Feinstein B+
Rep. Bob Filner C+
Rep. Elton Gallegly C+
Rep. Jane Harman B+
Rep. Wally Herger C
Rep. Michael M. Honda B
Rep. Duncan Hunter C
Rep. Darrell Issa C
Rep. Tom Lantos A-
Rep. Barbara Lee D+
Rep. Jerry Lewis C
Rep. Zoe Lofgren B
Rep. Dan Lungren D
Rep. Howard McKeon C
Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald B+
Rep. Gary G. Miller C
Rep. George Miller C+
Rep. Grace F. Napolitano B+
Rep. Devin Nunes C
Rep. Nancy Pelosi B+
Rep. Richard Pombo C
Rep. George P. Radanovich C
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher C
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard A-
Rep. Ed Royce C
Rep. Linda T. Sanchez B
Rep. Loretta Sanchez A-
Rep. Adam Schiff A-
Rep. Brad Sherman B+
Rep. Hilda L. Solis B
Rep. Fortney H. Stark C-
Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher A-
Rep. William M. Thomas C+
Rep. Mike Thompson B
Rep. Maxine Waters C
Rep. Diane Watson C+
Rep. Henry A. Waxman B
Rep. Lynn Woolsey C-

Colorado
Senator Wayne Allard D
Rep. Bob Beauprez C
Rep. Diana L. DeGette A-
Rep. Joel Hefley C
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave C-
Rep. John T. Salazar A-
Senator Ken Salazar B+
Rep. Thomas G. Tancredo C
Rep. Mark Udall A-

Connecticut
Rep. Rosa DeLauro A-
Senator Christopher J. Dodd A-
Rep. Nancy L. Johnson C+
Rep. John B. Larson B+
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman B+
Rep. Christopher Shays B
Rep. Robert R. Simmons C+

Delaware
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. B+
Senator Thomas R. Carper B+
Rep. Michael Castle C+

Florida
Rep. Michael Bilirakis C+
Rep. F. Allen Boyd, Jr. B+
Rep. Corrine Brown B+
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite C
Rep. Ander Crenshaw C+
Rep. Jim Davis A
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart C+
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart C
Rep. Tom Feeney D+
Rep. Mark Foley B-
Rep. Katherine Harris C-
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings B
Rep. Ric Keller C+
Rep. Connie Mack IV D
Senator Mel Martinez D
Rep. Kendrick B. Meek B+
Rep. John Mica C
Rep. Jeff Miller C
Senator Bill Nelson A-
Rep. Adam Putnam C+
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen B-
Rep. E. Clay Shaw, Jr. C+
Rep. Cliff Stearns C
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz B+
Rep. Dave Weldon C
Rep. Robert I. Wexler A-
Rep. C.W. Bill Young C+

Georgia
Rep. John Barrow B-
Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. A
Senator Saxby Chambliss D-
Rep. Nathan Deal C-
Rep. Phil Gingrey C-
Senator Johnny Isakson F
Rep. Jack Kingston C
Rep. John Lewis C
Rep. John Linder C
Rep. Jim Marshall B+
Rep. Cynthia McKinney D+
Rep. Charles Norwood C
Rep. Tom Price F
Rep. David Scott A-
Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland F

Hawaii
Rep. Neil Abercrombie B
Senator Daniel K. Akaka B+
Rep. Ed Case B
Senator Daniel K. Inouye B

Idaho
Senator Larry E. Craig D-
Senator Mike Crapo D
Rep. C.L. Otter C
Rep. Mike Simpson C

Illinois
Rep. Melissa L. Bean B+
Rep. Judy Biggert C
Rep. Jerry F. Costello A-
Rep. Danny K. Davis B
Senator Richard J. Durbin A-
Rep. Rahm Emanuel B+
Rep. Lane Evans A
Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez B+
Rep. J. Dennis Hastert F
Rep. Henry J. Hyde C+
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. B-
Rep. Timothy V. Johnson C+
Rep. Mark S. Kirk C+
Rep. Ray H. LaHood C+
Rep. Dan Lipinski A-
Rep. Donald A. Manzullo C
Senator Barack Obama B+
Rep. Bobby Rush B+
Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky C
Rep. John M. Shimkus C+
Rep. Jerry Weller C+

Indiana
Senator Evan Bayh B+
Rep. Dan Burton C
Rep. Steve Buyer C
Rep. Julia M. Carson A-
Rep. Chris Chocola C-
Rep. John N. Hostettler C+
Senator Richard G. Lugar D+
Rep. Mike Pence C
Rep. Mike Sodrel D
Rep. Mark Souder C
Rep. Peter J. Visclosky B+

Iowa
Rep. Leonard L. Boswell B+
Senator Charles E. Grassley D
Senator Tom Harkin B
Rep. Steve King D+
Rep. Tom Latham C+
Rep. Jim Leach B
Rep. Jim Nussle C

Kansas
Senator Sam Brownback D
Rep. Dennis Moore A-
Rep. Jerry Moran C
Senator Pat Roberts D
Rep. Jim R. Ryun C+
Rep. Todd Tiahrt C

Kentucky
Senator Jim Bunning D-
Rep. Ben Chandler A-
Rep. Geoff Davis D
Rep. Ron Lewis C+
Senator Mitch McConnell D
Rep. Anne M. Northup C
Rep. Harold Rogers C
Rep. Edward Whitfield C+

Louisiana
Rep. Rodney Alexander B-
Rep. Richard H. Baker C
Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr. D
Rep. William J. Jefferson A-
Rep. Bobby Jindal D
Senator Mary Landrieu B+
Rep. Jim McCrery C
Rep. Charlie Melancon B+
Senator David Vitter F

Maine
Rep. Thomas H. Allen A-
Senator Susan M. Collins C-
Rep. Michael H. Michaud B
Senator Olympia J. Snowe C

Maryland
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett C+
Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin A-
Rep. Elijah Cummings B+
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest C+
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer A
Senator Barbara A. Mikulski A-
Rep. C.A. Ruppersberger A-
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes B+
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Jr. B+
Rep. Albert Wynn A-

Massachusetts
Rep. Michael Capuano B
Rep. William Delahunt B
Rep. Barney Frank C+
Senator Edward M. Kennedy B+
Senator John F. Kerry B
Rep. Stephen F. Lynch B+
Rep. Edward J. Markey B
Rep. James P. McGovern B
Rep. Marty Meehan B+
Rep. Richard E. Neal A-
Rep. John W. Olver B-
Rep. John F. Tierney B-

Michigan
Rep. Dave Camp C
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. C-
Rep. John D. Dingell B+
Rep. Vernon Ehlers C
Rep. Peter Hoekstra C
Rep. Dale E. Kildee A-
Rep. Carolyn C. Kilpatrick B
Rep. Joseph Knollenberg C
Rep. Sander M. Levin A-
Senator Carl Levin B+
Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter C+
Rep. Candice Miller C
Rep. Michael J. Rogers C
Rep. Joe Schwarz D
Senator Debbie A. Stabenow A-
Rep. Bart Stupak A-
Rep. Fred Upton C+

Minnesota
Senator Norm Coleman D
Senator Mark Dayton A-
Rep. Gil Gutknecht C+
Rep. Mark R. Kennedy C+
Rep. John Kline C
Rep. Betty McCollum B
Rep. James L. Oberstar B-
Rep. Collin Peterson B+
Rep. Jim Ramstad B-
Rep. Martin Olav Sabo B+

Mississippi
Senator Thad Cochran D
Senator Trent Lott D
Rep. Charles Pickering, Jr. C+
Rep. Gene Taylor A-
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson A-
Rep. Roger Wicker C+

Missouri
Rep. Todd Akin C
Rep. Roy Blunt C
Senator Christopher S. Bond D
Rep. Russ Carnahan A-
Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay B+
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver A-
Rep. Jo Ann H. Emerson C+
Rep. Sam Graves C
Rep. Kenny C. Hulshof C
Rep. Ike Skelton A-
Senator Jim Talent D+

Montana
Senator Max Baucus B
Senator Conrad Burns D+
Rep. Dennis Rehberg C

Nebraska
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry D
Senator Chuck Hagel D+
Senator Ben Nelson B-
Rep. Tom Osborne C
Rep. Lee Terry C

Nevada
Rep. Shelley Berkley A-
Senator John Ensign D-
Rep. James A. Gibbons C+
Rep. Jon C. Porter C+
Senator Harry Reid A-

New Hampshire
Rep. Charles Bass C+
Rep. Jeb Bradley C+
Senator Judd Gregg D
Senator John E. Sununu D

New Jersey
Rep. Robert E. Andrews A-
Rep. Michael A. Ferguson B-
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen C+
Rep. Scott Garrett C-
Rep. Rush Holt B
Senator Frank R. Lautenberg B+
Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo B-
Senator Robert Menendez B
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. B
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. A-
Rep. Donald M. Payne C
Rep. Steven R. Rothman B+
Rep. Jim Saxton C
Rep. Christopher H. Smith B

New Mexico
Senator Jeff Bingaman B+
Senator Pete V. Domenici D
Rep. Steve Pearce C-
Rep. Tom Udall B+
Rep. Heather A. Wilson B-

New York
Rep. Gary L. Ackerman B+
Rep. Tim Bishop A-
Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert C+
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton A-
Rep. Joseph Crowley A-
Rep. Eliot Engel A-
Rep. Vito Fossella C+
Rep. Brian M. Higgins A-
Rep. Maurice Hinchey C+
Rep. Steve J. Israel A-
Rep. Sue W. Kelly C+
Rep. Peter King C+
Rep. Randy Kuhl D
Rep. Nita M. Lowey A
Rep. Carolyn Maloney A-
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy A
Rep. John McHugh C+
Rep. Michael R. McNulty A-
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks B
Rep. Jerrold Nadler B
Rep. Major R. Owens C
Rep. Charles B. Rangel B-
Rep. Thomas Reynolds C
Senator Charles E. Schumer B+
Rep. Jose E. Serrano B-
Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter B+
Rep. John E. Sweeney C+
Rep. Edolphus Towns B
Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez B-
Rep. James T. Walsh C+
Rep. Anthony D. Weiner B

North Carolina
Senator Richard Burr F
Rep. G.K. Butterfield A+
Rep. Howard Coble C
Senator Elizabeth Dole D-
Rep. Bob Etheridge A
Rep. Virginia Foxx D
Rep. Robin Hayes C
Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. B-
Rep. Patrick McHenry F
Rep. Mike McIntyre A-
Rep. Brad Miller A-
Rep. Sue Myrick C
Rep. David E. Price A
Rep. Charles H. Taylor C
Rep. Melvin L. Watt C+

North Dakota
Senator Kent Conrad B+
Senator Byron L. Dorgan A-
Rep. Earl Pomeroy A-

Ohio
Rep. John A. Boehner C
Rep. Sherrod Brown B
Rep. Steve Chabot C
Senator Mike DeWine D+
Rep. Paul E. Gillmor C+
Rep. David Hobson C+
Rep. Marcy Kaptur B+
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich C-
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette B-
Rep. Bob Ney C+
Rep. Michael G. Oxley C
Rep. Deborah Pryce C+
Rep. Ralph Regula C+
Rep. Tim Ryan B+
Rep. Ted Strickland A-
Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi C
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones B
Rep. Michael Turner C
Senator George V. Voinovich D

Oklahoma
Rep. Dan Boren B+
Senator Tom Coburn F
Rep. Tom Cole C
Senator James M. Inhofe D-
Rep. Ernest Istook, Jr. C
Rep. Frank D. Lucas C
Rep. John Sullivan C

Oregon
Rep. Earl Blumenauer C+
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio B
Rep. Darlene Hooley A-
Senator Gordon Smith C-
Rep. Greg Walden C+
Rep. David Wu B
Senator Ron Wyden B+

Pennsylvania
Rep. Robert A. Brady B+
Rep. Charles W. Dent C-
Rep. Mike Doyle B+
Rep. Philip S. English B-
Rep. Chaka Fattah B
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick C-
Rep. Jim Gerlach B-
Rep. Melissa A. Hart C+
Rep. Tim Holden B+
Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski B+
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy C
Rep. John P. Murtha B
Rep. John E. Peterson C+
Rep. Joseph R. Pitts C
Rep. Todd R. Platts B-
Senator Rick Santorum D-
Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz B
Rep. Don Sherwood C
Rep. Bill Shuster C
Senator Arlen Specter C
Rep. Curt Weldon B-

Rhode Island
Senator Lincoln D. Chafee C
Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy A-
Rep. James R. Langevin A
Senator Jack Reed A-

South Carolina
Rep. J. Gresham Barrett C-
Rep. Henry E. Brown, Jr. C
Rep. James Clyburn A-
Senator Jim DeMint F
Senator Lindsey O. Graham D-
Rep. Bob Inglis D
Rep. John M. Spratt, Jr. A
Rep. Joe Wilson C

South Dakota
Rep. Stephanie Herseth B+
Senator Tim Johnson B+
Senator John R. Thune D+

Tennessee
Senator Lamar Alexander D
Rep. Marsha Blackburn C-
Rep. Jim Cooper B+
Rep. Lincoln Davis A-
Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. D
Rep. Harold E. Ford, Jr. A-
Senator Bill Frist D
Rep. Bart Gordon A-
Rep. William L. Jenkins C+
Rep. John S. Tanner B+
Rep. Zach Wamp C

Texas
Rep. Joe Barton C
Rep. Henry Bonilla C
Rep. Kevin P. Brady C
Rep. Michael C. Burgess C-
Rep. John R. Carter C-
Rep. Mike Conaway D
Senator John Cornyn D-
Rep. Henry Cuellar A
Rep. John A. Culberson C
Rep. Lloyd Doggett B
Rep. Chet Edwards A-
Rep. Louie Gohmert F
Rep. Charles A. Gonzalez A
Rep. Kay Granger C
Rep. Al Green B+
Rep. Gene Green A
Rep. Ralph M. Hall B-
Rep. Jeb Hensarling D+
Rep. Ruben E. Hinojosa A-
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison D+
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee B
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson B+
Rep. Sam Johnson D+
Rep. Kenny Marchant D
Rep. Michael McCaul D
Rep. Randy Neugebauer D
Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz A
Rep. Ron E. Paul F
Rep. Ted Poe D+
Rep. Silvestre Reyes A-
Rep. Pete Sessions C-
Rep. Lamar S. Smith C+
Rep. William Thornberry C

Utah
Senator Robert Bennett D
Rep. Rob Bishop C-
Rep. Chris Cannon C-
Senator Orrin G. Hatch D
Rep. Jim Matheson A-

Vermont
Senator James M. Jeffords B+
Senator Patrick J. Leahy B+
Rep. Bernard Sanders B

Virginia
Senator George Allen D+
Rep. Rick Boucher A-
Rep. Eric I. Cantor C
Rep. Jo Ann S. Davis B-
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III C+
Rep. Thelma D. Drake D-
Rep. Randy Forbes C+
Rep. Virgil H. Goode, Jr. C
Rep. Bob Goodlatte C
Rep. James P. Moran A-
Rep. Bobby Scott A-
Senator John W. Warner D+
Rep. Frank R. Wolf C+

Washington
Rep. Brian Baird B
Senator Maria Cantwell A-
Rep. Norman D. Dicks A-
Rep. Doc Hastings C
Rep. Jay Inslee B+
Rep. Rick Larsen A
Rep. Jim McDermott C-
Rep. Cathy McMorris D
Senator Patty Murray A-
Rep. Dave Reichert D+
Rep. Adam Smith A-

West Virginia
Senator Robert C. Byrd B
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito C+
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan B+
Rep. Nick J. Rahall II B+
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV B+

Wisconsin
Rep. Tammy Baldwin B-
Senator Russ Feingold B
Rep. Mark Green C+
Rep. Ron J. Kind A-
Senator Herbert H. Kohl A-
Rep. Gwen S. Moore C
Rep. David R. Obey B
Rep. Thomas E. Petri C
Rep. Paul D. Ryan C
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. C-

Wyoming
Rep. Barbara Cubin C
Senator Michael B. Enzi D-
Senator Craig Thomas D

**Maureen in Italy** · November 7th, 2006, 01:22 PM

I'm not surprised that Hastert flunked, but I am surprised that McCain got a D. [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

**JunkintheTrunk** · November 7th, 2006, 05:51 PM

Fascinating. My senators, Elizabeth Dole (R) and Richard Burr (R), were both rated poorly. D- and F. I'm surprised, since both talk the promilitary talk.

My rep, Walter Jones, is also a Republican and runs on a very, very promilitary platform. His district includes Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point Air Station and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. He got a B-. It's really good to see that he's putting his votes where he's making his promises.

**taragunner** · November 7th, 2006, 07:08 PM

Santorum and Murtha are right where I expect them to be.

Camp Lejune and Cherry Point [img]graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
I spent a lot of vacations in those areas in my childhood, visiting my brother who was stationed there.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 07, 2006 03:19 PM: Message edited by: taragunner ]</font>