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The partisanship score is a measure of how often senators side with one party or the other in those votes where a majority of Democrats opposes a majority of Republicans. Data are from the Congressional Quarterly January 1, 2007, Party Unity Vote Study. The specific period covered by the votes recorded is 2006. The data are reconfigured to reflect the percentage of time a senator votes with the Democratic majority, in order to make the measure consistent with the direction of scores on the ADA liberalism measure. Consequently, a score of 80 indicates voting with the Democratic majority in 80% of the partisan votes. A score of 15 signifies voting with the Democrats only 15% of the time. It also signifies voting with the Republican majority 85% of the time (100-15=85). A score of 50 indicates voting with the Democrats 50% of time and Republicans 50% of the time.
These two sets of scores tend to run very close to each other and both suggest a considerable potential for ideological battles in judicial nominations, especially when the nominee is seen as possessing strong ideological leanings. Only Arlen Specter occupies a position that might be considered somewhat moderate, relative to his partisan colleagues. However, the closeness seen here among scores within each party does not translate to common views regarding nominees. The Democratic pair from Wisconsin, Kohl and Feingold, supported the nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice, disagreeing with the opposing stance of the other Democatic committee members.
| Democrats | ||||||||||
| . | Leahy | Kennedy | Biden | Kohl | Feinstein | Feingold | Schumer | Durbin | Cardin | Whitehouse |
| ADA Score | 95 | 100 | 100 | 90 | 90 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 90 | - |
| Partisanship | 97 | 99 | 91 | 91 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 98 | 95 | |
| Republicans | ||||||||||
| Specter | Hatch | Grassley | Kyl | Sessions | Graham | Cornyn | Brownback | Coburn | ||
| ADA Score | 30 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | |
| Partisanship | 39 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 17 | 8 | |
| Patrick Leahy | Democrat, Vermont |
| Birth: | March 31, 1940, Montpelier, Vermont |
| Education: | B.A. - St. Michael's College, 1961 J.D. - Georgetown University, 1964 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | state's attorney in Chittenden County |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1975 Judiciary Committee since 1975 |
| Leahy now chairs the Judiciary Committee by virtue of the fact that Senators Kennedy and Biden have chosen that role for themselves on other committees. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | O'Connor (1981);
Scalia (1986); Kennedy (1987); Souter (1990); ; Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994) Roberts (2005) |
| Opposed the nomination of | Rehnquist (1986); Bork (1987); Thomas (1991); Alito (2006) |
| Edward Kennedy | Democrat, Massachusetts |
| Birth: | February 22, 1932, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Education: | A.B. - Harvard College, 1956 LL.B. - University of Virginia, 1959 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | |
| Senate Service: | Since November 7, 1962 Judiciary Committee since 1962 |
| Kennedy has served longest on the Judiciary Committee of any current member. He chaired the Committee from 1979 to 1980, but he declined when the Democrats regained control of the Senate in 1987, preferring instead to chair the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. He led the opposition to Robert Bork and was the only Committee member to oppose Souter. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | Goldberg (1962); Fortas (1965); Marshall (1967); Fortas (1968); Burger (1969); Balckmun (1970); Powell (1971); Stevens (1975); O'Connor (1981); Scalia (1986); Kennedy (1987); Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994) |
| Opposed the nomination of | Haynsworth (1969); Carswell (1970); Rehnquist (1971); Rehnquist (1986); Bork (1987); Souter (1990); Thomas (1991); Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Joseph Biden | Democrat, Delaware |
| Birth: | November 20, 1942, Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Education: | B.A. - University of Delaware, 1965 J.D. - Syracuse University, 1968 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1973 Judiciary Committee since 1977 |
| Biden chaired the Committee from 1987 through 1994 and presided over the Committee during the nominations of Bork, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer. Though senior to Leahy, Biden chose, as has Kennedy, to assert his senior status on another committee, leaving Judiciary to Leahy. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | Goldberg (1962); Fortas (1965); Stevens (1975); O'Connor (1981); Scalia (1986); Kennedy (1987); Souter (1990); Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994) |
| Opposed the nomination of |
Rehnquist (1986); Bork (1987); Thomas (1991); Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Herbert Kohl | Democrat, Wisconsin |
| Birth: | February 7, 1935, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Education: | B.A. - University of Wisconsin, 1956 M.B.A. - Harvard University, 1958 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | businessman |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1989 Judiciary Committee since 1989 |
| Supported the confirmation of |
Souter (1990); Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994); Roberts (2005) |
| Opposed the nomination of | Thomas (1991); Alito (2006) |
| Diane Feinstein | Democrat, California |
| Birth: | June 22, 1933, San Francisco, California |
| Education: | B.A. - Stanford University, 1955 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | San Francisco Board of Supervisors Mayor of San Francisco |
| Senate Service: | Since November 10, 1992 Judiciary Committee since 1993 |
| One of four new women elected to the Senate in 1992, Feinstein's appointment to the Committee in 1993, reflected the Senate's response to criticism regarding the situation in which an all-male committee was hearing allegations of sexual harassment from a female (Anita Hill) against a male nominee (Thomas) to the Court. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994) |
| Opposed the nomination of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Russell Feingold | Democrat, Wisconsin |
| Birth: | March 2, 1953, Janesville, Wisconsin |
| Education: | B.A. - University of Wisconsin, 1975 Rhodes Scholar - Oxford University, 1977 J.D. - Harvard Law School, 1979 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney; state senator |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1993 Judiciary Committee since 1993/TD> |
| Supported the confirmation of |
Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994) Roberts (2005); |
| Opposed the nomination of | Alito (2006) |
| Charles Schumer | Democrat, New York |
| Birth: | November 23, 1950, Brooklyn, New York |
| Education: | Harvard University, 1971 J.D. - Harvard Law School, 1974 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | NY State Assembly, 1976-1980 Member of U.S. House, 1981-1990 |
| Senate Service: | Since January 6, 1999 Judiciary Committee since 1999 |
| Supported the confirmation of | |
| Opposed the nomination of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Richard Durbin | Democrat, Illinois |
| Birth: | November 21, 1944, East St. Louis, IL |
| Education: | Georgetown, 1966 J.D. - Georgetown, 1969 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | legal counsel to state govt. officials Member of U.S. House, 1982-1997 |
| Senate Service: | Since January 6, 1997 Judiciary Committee since 1999 |
| Supported the confirmation of | |
| Opposed the nomination of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Benjamin Cardin | Democrat, Maryland |
| Birth: | October 5, 1943, Baltimore, MD |
| Education: | B.A. - U. of Pittsburg, 1964 J.D. - U. of Maryland, 1967 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | state legislator, 1967-1986 Member of U.S. House, 1987-2006 |
| Senate Service: | Since January 4, 2007 Judiciary Committee since 2007 |
| Sheldon Whitehouse | Democrat, Rhode Island |
| Birth: | October 20, 1955, New York, NY |
| Education: | Yale University, 1978 J.D. - U. Virgina, 1982 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | U.S. Attorney, 1994-1998 State Attorney General, 1999-2003 |
| Senate Service: | Since January 4, 2007 Judiciary Committee since 2007 |
| Arlen Specter | Republican, Pennsylvania |
| Birth: | February 12, 1930 in Wichita, Kansas |
| Education: | B.A. - University of Pennsylvania, 1951 LL.B. - Yale Law School, 1956 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney; District Attorney in Philadelphia |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1981 Judiciary Committee since 1981 |
| By Republican standards, relatively liberal, Specter's questioning of Robert Bork and his ultimate decision to oppose may have been critical to the defeat of the nomination. On the other hand, his aggressive critical questioning of Anita Hill in the Thomas nomination nearly cost him re-election in 1992. Specter, however, is nothing if not a survivor in Pennsylvania politics and in Republican party politics. Some more conservative interests opposed his ascension to Chair of the Judiciary Committee beginning in 2005, but Specter won out over this opposition as well. He now serves as the ranking member of the minority. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | O'Connor (1981); Rehnquist (1986); Scalia (1986); Kennedy (1987); Souter (1990); Thomas (1991); Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994); Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | Bork (1987); |
| Orrin Hatch | Republican, Utah |
| Birth: | March 22, 1934, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Education: | B.S. - Brigham Young University, 1959 LL.B. - University of Pittsburgh, 1962 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney |
| Senate Service: | Since December 30, 1976 Judiciary Committee since 1977 |
| Hatch assumed the ranking minority position in 1993 when Strom Thurmond stepped aside to assume such a position on a different committee. He became chair of the Committee in 1995 as a result of the Republican majority in the Senate created by the 1994 elections, serving until the Democrats regained control briefly in 2001. With a newly elected Republican majority in 2002, Hatch resumed the chair on January 15, 2003 and served in that capacity until the opening of the 109th Congress in 2005. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | O'Connor (1981); Rehnquist (1986); Scalia (1986); Bork (1987); Kennedy (1987); Souter (1990); Thomas (1991); Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994); Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| Charles Grassley | Republican, Iowa |
| Birth: | September 17, 1933, New Hartford, Iowa |
| Education: | B.A. -University of Northern Iowa, 1955 M.A. - University of Northern Iowa, 1956 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | farmer |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1981 Judiciary Committee since 1981 |
| While ultimately supporting her nomination, Grassley joined with two other committee members to raise doubts about the O'Connor nomination in 1981, based largely on uncertainties about her position on abortion -- Grassley hoping for a justice who would vote to overturn Roe v Wade. | |
| Supported the confirmation of | O'Connor (1981); Rehnquist (1986); Scalia (1986); Bork (1987); Kennedy (1987); Souter (1990); Thomas (1991); Ginsburg (1993); Breyer (1994); Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| Jon Kyl | Republican, Arizona |
| Birth: | April 25, 1942, Oakland, Nebraska |
| Education: | B.A. - University of Arizona, 1964 LL.B. - University of Arizona, 1966 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney; 4 terms in U.S. House |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 1995 Judiciary Committee since 1995 |
| Supported the confirmation of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| Jeffrey Sessions | Republican, Alabama |
| Birth: | December 24, 1946, Hybert, Alabama |
| Education: | B.A. - Huntingdon College, 1969 J.D. - University of Alabama, 1973 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney; attorney general |
| Senate Service: | Since January 6, 1997 Judiciary Committee since 1997 |
| Supported the confirmation of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| Lindsay Graham | Republican, South Carolina |
| Birth: | July 9, 1955, Central, SC |
| Education: | B.A. - U. South Carolina, 1977 J.D. - U. South Carolina, 1981 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | Lawyer, County Attorney, City Attorney; |
| Senate Service: | Since January 15, 2003 Judiciary Committee since 2003 |
| Supported the confirmation of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| John Cornyn | Republican, Texas |
| Birth: | February 2, 1952, Houston, Texas |
| Education: | B.A. - Trinity University, 1973 J.D. - St. Marys School of Law, 1977 LLM - University of Virginia, 1995 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | attorney, Texas Supreme Court justice; Texas Attorney General 1999-2002 |
| Senate Service: | Since December 2, 2002 Judiciary Committee since 2003 |
| Supported the confirmation of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| Sam Brownback | Republican, Kansas |
| Birth: | September 12, 1956, Parker, Kansas |
| Education: | B.A. - Kansas State University, 1979 J. D. - University of Kansas, 1982 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | Kansas Sec. of Ag., U.S. Congressman 1995-1996 |
| Senate Service: | Since November 7, 1996 Judiciary Committee since 2005 |
| Supported the confirmation of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
| Tom Coburn | Republican, Oklahoma |
| Birth: | March 14, 1948, Casper, Wyoming |
| Education: | B.S. - Oklahoma State University, 1973 M.D. - University of Oklahoma, 1986 |
| Pre-Senate Careers: | U.S. Congressman 1995-2001 |
| Senate Service: | Since January 3, 2005 Judiciary Committee since 2005 |
| Supported the confirmation of | Roberts (2005); Alito (2006) |
| Opposed the nomination of | . |
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