INDReporter

La. Congressional delegation ranks as 9th most conservative

by Nathan Stubbs

National Journal magazine has released its annual Congressional vote ratings, an attempt to identify where each member belongs on the political spectrum based on composite scores of how conservative or liberal their voting was in 2009. National Journal magazine has released its annual Congressional vote ratings, an attempt to identify where each member belongs on the political spectrum based on composite scores of how conservative or liberal their voting was in 2009. The Journal reports that its annual this year's ratings show that "long-standing ideological divides have persisted - and even deepened - in President Obama's Washington."

In Congress, Louisiana's House delegation ranks as the 9th most conservative, behind Idaho, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Kansas, Alabama and Alaska. Steve Scalise of Covington ranked as Louisiana's most conservative Congressman (40th overall of 435), followed by John Fleming (57th overall), Charles Boustany (76), Rodney Alexander (82), Joseph Cao (125), Bill Cassidy (148) and Charlie Melancon (197). In the Senate, Mary Landrieu and David Vitter are classified as one of the "Senate odd couples." Vitter ranks as the Senate's 19th most conservative member (out of 100) while Landrieu falls right in the middle as the Senate's 55th most conservative, or its 44th most liberal member. See the full listings here.