From DailyKos, a review of the commonly reported pitch about Kerry being the most liberal member of the Senate and Edwards being number four. Hell, I don't care if either is or was a liberal but for national politics, there's always the issue of attracting independent voters in the middle. It's interesting that the GOP has to keep making up lies and repeating them when they attack Kerry. With a record like theirs though, I suppose what else can they do?
The actual National Journal ratings look a little bit different:
But if the standard is votes over a lifetime, Kerry isn't the most liberal senator. By that measure, Kerry is the 11th-most-liberal senator, coming in below such Democrats as Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Barbara Boxer of California, and, yes, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, according to a National Journal analysis published in March.
John Edwards, who was ranked the fourth-most-liberal senator in 2003 (and who also missed many votes that year), is the 27th-most-liberal senator based on votes over his career.
