2004
Budget Session
Last
revised
The 2004 Wyoming Liberty Index is now available. The tables for the two houses are shown below.
A discussion about the bills rated may be found here, and the spreadsheet (in Excel 97 format) is here. The 2004 Special session was not included in the rating, as it was determined there were enough bills in the Budget session to create the rating; and many bills in the Special session were similar to those in the Budget session anyway.
The 2004 Index differs from the 2003 Index in the following respects:
· The 2003 Index ranked only House members, using only House-originated bills. The 2004 Index ranks both House and Senate members, using bills originated in both houses.
· The spreadsheet for the 2004 Index includes every bill, whether the bill contributed to the ranking or not.
· The bill weighing system used for the 2004 Index is simpler (fewer levels) than in the 2003 Index.
Remember, the Index cannot be anything other than an approximate measure of the liberty-supporting tendencies of each legislator, and that only relative to his colleagues.
The Top Ten liberty-supporting members in the House were (in order) Representatives Wostenberg, Baker, Philp, Jones, Anderson, Brechtel, Semlek, Robinson, Bucholz, and Jorgensen. They, especially the leaders in this group, were so closely clustered in score that it is impossible to say with any confidence who is the most liberty-supporting member. Many also led the 2003 Index.
The House Need Improvement - the most liberty-hostile members - were (in order) Cooper, Meyer, Parady, Slater, Miller, Bagby, McOmie, Hinckley, Hastert, Martin and Law, with Walsh in last place. Again, many of these poor performances are repeats from the 2003 Index.
The Top Five liberty-supporting members in the Senate were (in order) Senators Case, Goodenough, Cathcart, Mockler, and Erb. Unlike the near-tie situation in the House, Senator Case was far more friendly to liberty than 2nd place Senator Goodenough, who in turn was far more liberty-friendly than all the rest of the members. Senator Case is truly a standout, in support of liberty.
The Senate Need Improvement - the most liberty-hostile members - were (in order) Senators Massie, Sessions, Townsend, Scott, Anderson, and dragging up the rear, Senator Barrasso.
It is interesting that the most liberty-supporting Senator is an economist, and the most liberty-harming one a doctor. One wonders how the different professions correlate with support of liberty, if there is any correlation. Perhaps a subject for future study.
In the charts below, where more than one member shows the same rank, it means of course that they tied in score.
The 2004 House Index. The most liberty-supporting legislators are at the top of the table.
|
Name |
Party |
District |
District Location (county) |
Rank |
|
Wostenberg, N. Jane |
R |
27 |
Washakie |
1 |
|
Baker, Micheal |
R |
28 |
S.BigHorn/HotSprings/SEPark |
2 |
|
Philp, Frank |
R |
34 |
Fremont |
2 |
|
Jones, Alan |
R |
25 |
Park |
4 |
|
Anderson, Rodney,
"Pete" |
R |
10 |
Laramie |
5 |
|
Brechtel, Bob |
R |
38 |
Natrona |
5 |
|
Semlek, Mark |
R |
1 |
Crook/Weston |
7 |
|
Robinson, Ann |
D |
58 |
Natrona |
8 |
|
Bucholz, Kurt |
R |
47 |
Carbon/Albany |
9 |
|
Jorgensen, Pete |
D |
16 |
Teton |
10 |
|
Childers, Charles,
"Pat" |
R |
50 |
Park |
11 |
|
Landon, Jack Jr. |
R |
30 |
Sheridan |
12 |
|
Meuli, Larry |
R |
8 |
Laramie |
13 |
|
Gilmore, Mary |
D |
59 |
Natrona |
14 |
|
Alden, Deborah |
R |
3 |
Converse/Platte |
15 |
|
Diercks, Ross |
D |
2 |
Niobrara/Weston/Converse/Goshen |
16 |
|
Luthi, Randall |
R |
21 |
Lincoln |
16 |
|
Nicholas, Philip |
R |
14 |
Albany |
18 |
|
Illoway, Pete |
R |
42 |
Laramie |
19 |
|
Buchanan, Edward |
R |
4 |
Goshen |
20 |
|
Johnson, Lorna |
D |
45 |
Albany |
20 |
|
Cohee, Roy |
R |
35 |
Natrona |
22 |
|
Prosser, Ed |
R |
43 |
Laramie |
23 |
|
Gentile, Liz |
D |
36 |
Natrona |
24 |
|
Iekel, Jerry |
R |
29 |
Sheridan |
24 |
|
Wasserburger, Jeff |
R |
32 |
Campbell |
26 |
|
Hageman, James |
R |
5 |
Goshen/Platte |
27 |
|
Powers, Mick |
R |
18 |
Uinta/Sweetwater |
28 |
|
Esquibel, Floyd |
D |
44 |
Laramie |
29 |
|
Latta, Frank |
R |
53 |
Campbell |
29 |
|
Edwards, Dave |
R |
6 |
Converse |
31 |
|
Olsen, Monte |
R |
22 |
Lincoln/Sublette/Teton |
32 |
|
Ross, Tony |
R |
7 |
Laramie |
32 |
|
Petersen, Owen |
R |
19 |
Uinta |
34 |
|
Reese, Wayne |
D |
11 |
Laramie |
34 |
|
Simpson, Colin |
R |
24 |
Park |
36 |
|
Berger, Rosie |
R |
51 |
Sheridan |
37 |
|
Warren, Jane |
D |
13 |
Albany |
37 |
|
McMurtrey, George |
R |
52 |
Campbell |
39 |
|
Harshman, Steve |
R |
37 |
Natrona |
40 |
|
Jansen, Jene |
R |
31 |
Campbell |
40 |
|
Johnson, Wayne |
R |
9 |
Laramie |
42 |
|
Harvey, Elaine |
R |
26 |
BigHorn/Park |
43 |
|
Morgan, Layton |
D |
12 |
Laramie |
44 |
|
Thompson, Bill |
D |
60 |
Sweetwater |
45 |
|
Lockhart, Thomas |
R |
57 |
Natrona |
46 |
|
Osborn, Douglas |
R |
40 |
Johnson/Sheridan |
47 |
|
Cooper, Stan |
R |
20 |
Lincoln/Sublette/Sweetwater |
48 |
|
Meyer, Saundra |
D |
49 |
Uinta |
48 |
|
Parady, Fred |
R |
17 |
Sweetwater |
50 |
|
Slater, Jim |
R |
46 |
Albany |
51 |
|
Miller, David |
R |
55 |
Fremont |
52 |
|
Bagby, George |
D |
15 |
Carbon |
53 |
|
McOmie, Del |
R |
54 |
Fremont |
53 |
|
Hinckley, Becket |
R |
41 |
Laramie |
55 |
|
Hastert, John |
D |
39 |
Sweetwater |
56 |
|
Martin, Marty |
D |
48 |
SWFremont/Sweetwater |
57 |
|
Law, Clarene |
R |
23 |
Fremont/Teton |
58 |
|
Walsh, Tom |
R |
56 |
Natrona |
59 |
|
Tipton, Harry* |
R |
33 |
Fremont |
N/A |
* Deceased.
The 2004 Senate Index. The most liberty-supporting legislators are at the top of the table.
|
Name |
Party |
District |
District Location (county) |
Rank |
|
Case, Cale |
R |
25 |
Fremont |
1 |
|
Goodenough, Keith |
D |
28 |
Natrona |
2 |
|
Cathcart, Rich |
D |
6 |
Laramie |
3 |
|
Mockler, Jayne |
D |
8 |
Laramie |
3 |
|
Erb, Richard
"Dick" |
R |
24 |
Campbell |
5 |
|
Schiffer, John |
R |
22 |
Sheridan/Johnson |
6 |
|
Decaria, Ken |
D |
15 |
Uinta |
7 |
|
Job, Rae Lynn |
D |
12 |
Sweetwater/Fremont |
8 |
|
Burns, Bruce |
R |
21 |
Sheridan |
9 |
|
Coe, Henry
"Hank" |
R |
18 |
Park |
9 |
|
Kunz, April Brimmer |
R |
4 |
Laramie |
9 |
|
Northrup, Laness |
R |
19 |
Big Horn/E Park |
12 |
|
Hines, John |
R |
23 |
Campbell |
13 |
|
Larson, Grant |
R |
17 |
Teton/Fremont |
14 |
|
Hanes, John |
R |
5 |
Laramie |
15 |
|
Devin, Irene |
R |
10 |
Albany |
16 |
|
Meier, Curt |
R |
3 |
Goshen/Platte |
16 |
|
Vasey, Bill |
D |
11 |
Albany/Carbon |
18 |
|
Caller, Larry |
D |
14 |
Lincoln/Sublette/Sweetwater/Uinta |
19 |
|
Boggs, Tex |
D |
13 |
Sweetwater |
20 |
|
Peck, Robert |
R |
26 |
Fremont |
21 |
|
Roberts, Delaine |
R |
16 |
Lincoln/Sublette/Teton |
21 |
|
Geis, Gerald |
R |
20 |
S Big Horn/Hot
Springs/SE Park/Washakie |
23 |
|
Hawks, Bill |
R |
29 |
Natrona |
23 |
|
Massie, Mike |
D |
9 |
Albany |
23 |
|
Sessions, Kathryn |
D |
7 |
Laramie |
26 |
|
Townsend, C.L.
"Chuck" |
R |
1 |
Crook/Weston/E
Converse/Niobrara/NE Goshen |
27 |
|
Scott, Charles |
R |
30 |
Natrona |
28 |
|
Anderson, Jim |
R |
2 |
Converse/Platte |
29 |
|
Barrasso, John |
R |
27 |
Natrona |
30 |