Obama votes cast him left of his own party

EXCLUSIVE:

Sen. Barack Obama will portray himself Thursday night as an agent of change for mainstream America, but his eight-year voting record in the Illinois Senate shows the Democrat was on occasion an agent of isolation who took stands - particularly on anti-crime legislation - that put him to the left of his own party.

Mr. Obama was the only member of the state Senate to vote against a bill to prohibit the early release of convicted criminal sexual abusers; was among only four who voted against bills to toughen criminal sentences and to increase penalties for “gangbangers” and dealers of Ecstasy; and voted “present” on a bill making it harder for abusive parents to regain custody of their children, a Washington Times review of Illinois legislative records shows.

“On the one hand, I give him credit for being true to his beliefs. But certainly with concerns that there were, even for his own party in Illinois, he would be to the left on some of those key votes,” said Illinois state Sen. Dave Syverson, a conservative Republican.

The pattern has continued since Mr. Obama joined the U.S. Senate, according to National Journal magazine.

Its respected legislative scorecard rated the Illinois Democrat, based on his 2007 voting record, as the most liberal member of the Senate, even more liberal than Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, a self-described “democratic socialist.” Mr. Obama ranked No. 16 and No. 10 in the previous two years.

His running mate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, ranked third in the 2007 National Journal survey, with only Sen. Edward M. Kennedy between him and Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama’s left-leaning pedigree has concerned some of his party’s moderate and conservative members. Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma has publicly refused to endorse Mr. Obama, describing the presumptive presidential nominee as the “most liberal senator” on Capitol Hill.

“I think this is an important time for our country,” Mr. Boren has told reporters. “We’re facing a terrible economic downturn. We have high gasoline prices. We have problems in our foreign policy. That’s why I think it’s important.”

Although Mr. Obama has talked about working with Republicans, Mr. Boren said, “unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion.”

Mr. Boren, however, said he plans to support the Democratic ticket on Election Day and will celebrate if his party succeeds in seating the first black president.

The Obama campaign has dismissed concerns about their candidate’s voting record and accused Republicans of trying to “distract, deflect and distort” the record by improperly characterizing votes he cast on several issues, including hot-button criminal justice matters.

The campaign said Mr. Obama was a “strong proponent of tougher measures to fight crime,” such as supporting efforts to increase funding and support for local law enforcement.

His aides said Mr. Obama sponsored laws to remove the statute of limitations for first-degree murder and to extend the statute of limitations for sexual assault; to protect victims of domestic violence; to increase penalties on drunken drivers and white-collar criminals; and to protect victims’ rights.

They also said Mr. Obama has worked on legislation to crack down on sex offenders and drug dealers, and repeatedly voted to lengthen sentences for criminals.

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