No liberals in the House

In a November 17 story about the Democrat leadership elections, a Lawrence Journal-World headline notes that Rep. Steny Hoyer, the newly elected majority leader, is a "moderate."

In a Kansas City Star article on the same day, Margaret Talev also reported that Hoyer is a "moderate."

In its 2005 ratings of legislators, Americans forDemocratic Action (ADA), “America's oldest independent liberal lobbying organization,” assigned Hoyer a"Liberal Quotient" (LQ) of 95 percent. The overall average for House Democrats in 2005 was 90.7 percent.

Hoyer received a perfect LQ of 100 percent the year before and was named a "House Hero." The overall average for House Democrats in 2004 was 85 percent.

Incidentally, ADA’s definition of a “moderate” is a House member who earned an LQ of 40-60 percent. Hoyer's opponent, Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania, received LQs of 50 percent and 75 percent in 2005 and 2005, respectively. Nevertheless, the mainstream media portrayed Hoyer as the more moderate.

Hoyer is clearly a liberal. The Journal-World claims that it stands for accuracy in reporting. Hasn't it fallen short of that goal by portraying Hoyer as something he is not?