Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), was scored by the Washington Post on the percentage of votes on which a lawmaker agrees with the position taken by a majority of his or her party members. The scores do not include missed votes.
Their summary: Voted with Republican Party 76.9% of 312 votes. Overall, Democrats voted with their party 88.4% of the time, and Republicans voted with their party 81.7% of the time (votes Jan. 8 through Sept. 8, 2007).
Source: Washington Post, "US Congress Votes Database"
Sep 8, 2007
Switched parties, but didn't switch his opinions on issues
Now a self-described "common sense conservative," not long ago Coleman was a Democrat. "Paul Wellstone is a Democrat, and I am a Democrat, but I stand before you today much like the 20 to 30 percent of this convention's delegates who call themselves
pro-life, or pro-business, pro-jobs, pro-economic growth, to proudly proclaim my support for President Bill Clinton and Sen. Paul Wellstone," Coleman said the 1996 DFL state convention.
Source:
Feb 11, 2002
Voted YES on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice.
Vote on the Nomination -- a YES vote would to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of New Jersey, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Reference: Alito Nomination;
Bill PN 1059
; vote number 2006-002
on Jan 31, 2006
Voted YES on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Vote on the Nomination (Confirmation John G. Roberts, Jr., of Maryland, to be Chief Justice of the United States )
Reference: Supreme Court Nomination of John Roberts;
Bill PN 801
; vote number 2005-245
on Sep 27, 2005
Member of the Republican Main Street Partnership .
Coleman is a member the Republican Main Street Partnership:
The Republican Main Street Partnership was founded in 1998 to promote thoughtful leadership in the Republican Party, to serve as a voice for centrist Republicans and to partner with individuals, organizations and institutions that share centrist values.
The Partnership pursues public policies that reflect a limited, but responsible role for government and that are designed to achieve fiscal responsibility, economic growth, improvements in the human condition and a nation that is globally competitive and secure. Partnership members include individuals who are interested in moderate Republican policies, focusing on governance and on finding common sense solutions to national problems.
The Republican Main Street Partnership is an organization of party members and public officials committed to building America's principled but pragmatic center within the Republican Party and throughout the nation. The Partnership contributes to the nation's governance through developing and promoting creative public policies for implementation at appropriate levels of government.
Rated 0% by the AU, indicating opposition to church-state separation.
Coleman scores 0% by the AU on church-state separation
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 AU scores as follows:
0%- 20%: opposition to church-state separation (approx. 232 members)
21%- 79%: mixed record on church-state separation (approx. 79 members)
80%-100%: support of church-state separation (approx. 153 members)
About the AU (from their website, www.au.org):
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.
