Useful Tool-- A Middle Class Voter Guide... And One For People Who Love Fido

Although Campaign for America’s Future and Van Jones' Rebuild the Dream won't be officially launching the 2012 congressional voter guide until Friday, the site, The Middle Class Voter Guide is live now and easy to use. The best way to use it is to check out your own state and find your own congressmember and senators and see how they've been voting in terms of support for the middle class.

Believe it or not, close to 200 Republicans scored a zero, "worst of the worst!" And that shameful list includes almost all the Republicans Blue America is targeting this cycle. One or two escaped by voting for one bill in Congress that was beneficial to the middle class. In the case of Patrick McHenry (R-NC), it must have been a mistake. Among the zeroes who are running against Blue America backed candidates are:

• Eric Cantor (R-VA)

• Buck McKeon (R-CA)

• Joe Pitts (R-PA)

• Mike Rogers (R-MI)

• Ed Royce (R-CA)

• Paul Ryan (R-WI)

• Mike Coffman (R-CO)

• Tom Reed (R-NY)

• Frank Guinta (R-NH)

• Steve Stivers (R-OH)

• Mike Kelly (R-PA)

All of the defenders of middle class interests against the above zeroes, can be fond on either (or both) of this page or this page. So have the folks who put this guide together-- both Beltway Democratic organizations-- been able to recognize that some "Democrats" are as odious and detrimental to working families as the Republicans. Yes-- and here's a list of the bottom rung of Democrats, basically the ones who vote with the GOP all the time and should be voted out of office in November:

• Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog/New Dem-NC)

• Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)

• Mike Ross (Blue Dog-AR)

• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)

• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)

• Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK)

• Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)

• John Barrow (Blue Dog/New Dem-GA)

• William Owens (New Dem-NY)

Of course, this is hardly the only way to look at a congressional voting record. There are dozens of groups that rate Members of Congress on their issues. One that has always been especially nonpartisan is the Humane Society, which scores Members of Congress based on their willingness to protect animals from cruelty. Their new scorecard just came out as well. You can click that link and find your own Member easy enough. The absolute bottom of the barrel, the Members with zero scores are:

Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Mike Rogers (R-AL)

Paul Gosar (R-AZ)

Rick Crawford (R-AR)

Steve Womack (R-AR)

Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)

Wally Herger (R-CA)

Jerry Lewis (R-CA)

Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)

Devin Nunes (R-CA)

Doug Lamborn (R-CO)

Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)

Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Steve Southerland (R-FL)

Daniel Webster (R-FL)

Phil Gingrey (R-GA)

Lynn Westermoreland (R-GA)

Mike Simpson (R-ID)

Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)

Larry Buschon (R-IN)

Mike Pence (R-IN)

Ted Rokita (R-IN)

Marlin Stutzman (R-IN)

Steve King (R-IA)

Tim Huelskamp (R-KS)

Mike Pompeo (R-KS)

Geoff Davis (R-KY)

Brett Guthrie (R-KY)

Rodney Alexander (R-LA)

Charles "Lord" Bosustany (R-LA)

Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

Jeffrey Landry (R-LA)

Steve Scalise (R-LA)

Dave Camp (R-MI)

Bill Huizenga (R-MI)

Gregg Harper (R-MS)

Alan Nunnelee (R-MS)

Steven Palazzo (R-MS)

Todd Akin (R-MO)

Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)

Sam Graves (R-MO)

Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)

Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)

Adrian Smith (R-NE)

Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY)

Tom Reed (R-NY)

Rick Berg (R-ND)

Steve Austria (R-OH)

Bob Gibbs (R-OH)

Robert Latta (R-OH)

Jim Renacci (R-OH)

Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)

Mike Turner (R-OH)

Tom Cole (R-OK)

James Lankford (R-OK)

Frank Lucas (R-OK)

John Sullivan (R-OK)

Greg Walden (R-OR)

Mike Kelly (R-PA)

Noem Kristi (R-SD)

Diane Black (R-TN)

Scott DesJarlais (R-TN)

Steve Fincher (R-TN)

Charles Fleischmann (R-TN)

Kevin Brady (R-TX)

Michael Burgess (R-TX)

Francisco Canseco (R-TX)

John Carter (R-TX)

Mike Conaway (R-TX)

Blake Farenthold (R-TX)

Ralph Hall (R-TX)

Sam Johnson (R-TX)

Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

Michael McCaul (R-TX)

Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)

Pete Olson (R-TX)

Ted Poe (R-TX)

Mac Thornberry (R-TX)

Rob Bishop (R-UT)

Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

Robert Hurt (R-VA)

Scott Rigell (R-VA)

Doc Hastings (R-WA)

Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)

Reid Ribble (R-WI)

Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)

The new Steve King ad:

The slightly older ad, which was rejected by Iowa TV stations after they were pressured by King, even though the Des Moines Register editorialized that the ad is accurate.

Several Iowa television stations are refusing to air an ad from an animal welfare political group. The Washington-based Humane Society Legislative Fund criticizes King, R-Kiron, for opposing legislation that bans interstate dog fighting and that would ban people from taking children to animal fights.

Paul Fredericksen, general manager of KCCI-TV, said his station refused the ad due to its “sensational tone” and “the graphic treatment of animal photos and a Web site address.”

However, the ad is no more disturbing than ads that regularly run on television, including a commercial featuring singer Sarah McLachlan raising money to help abused animals.

Ray Cole, president of Citadel Communications, which owns WOI-TV in West Des Moines and KCAU-TV in Sioux City, said his company’s objections to the Humane Society ad weren’t due to the images. Citadel stations aren’t running the ad because “we believe the message is patently false,” Cole said.

The ad says that King is the only Iowa member of Congress to oppose a ban on taking children to dog fights. The animal welfare group points to King’s legislative voting record as evidence the claim is true. Rather than disputing the record, King takes issue with the political group itself and says he loves dogs, including his own.

All media can decide which ads to air and publish and which they won’t. But if “patently false” becomes the standard for not running a political ad, imagine how the public discourse during election season could change-- for the better. In fact, you can’t help but wonder what would remain on the airwaves.