Vitter's Ideology and Voting Record

Let the Tempest Come

On his campaign for governor website, Vitter describes himself as "a bold, conservative reformer who's tackling our most significant problems with Louisiana common sense." As far as one can tell, Vitter has presented himself as the typical "head-banging conservative" from a red state and while managing to rise steadily within the Senatorial hierarchy. Now in the middle of a run for governor, the positions taken and credits claimed by Vitter while in Congress have become a valuable asset on the trail.

DW-Nominate Scores

The DW-Nominate Score for the 1st Session of the 113th Congress, as tabulated by admittedly liberal weblog with political analysis on US current events Daily Kos, had Vitter at 0.749 points away from the Center, making him the 6th most conservative Republican senator in the chamber. It is worth noting that, but for Mike Lee of Utah, the 6 most conservative senators on the list all hail from Southern states, which are overwhelmingly red in their ideological orientation.

Party Vote

All the evidence purports to show that Vitter has usually toed the party line when it comes to votes on the Senate floor. And why should he do otherwise. Voting with the Republican Party on issues such as immigration, Obamacare, and the Keystone XL Pipeline plays well back home.

ADA and Interest Group Scores

The Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) 2014 Voting Records gave Vitter a score of 5 percent, meaning that Vitter did not vote with the organization on all but one of the 20 salient issues they focused on.

As can be seen on his votesmart.com, Vitter's standing with interest groups are not in the least surprising. The more conservative groups such as the NRA, the National Right to Life Committee, and Americans for Legal Immigration give him top marks, while liberal interest groups such as NARAL-Pro-choice America rate him in the single digits.

Crossing the Aisle

As announced by The Advocate, a leading Baton Rouge-based political media house, on March 14, 2015, Vitter joined Democratic counterpart Tom Udall to oversee the rollout of a chemical regulation bill they cosponsored. The bill, saluted by the Environmental Protection Fund, is a sharp about-turn for Vitter who has a hard-earned pro-business reputation. His support was perhaps made less problematic when Lousiana's chemical companies came out in support of the bill. Louisiana is home to the country's second-largest chemical industry, second only to Texas.

The chemical regulation bill highlights a certain Vitter proclivity to make overtures to the left of the aisle so long as they do not antagonize his base and they help advance his standing in the Senate. His staunch support for former Senator Mary Landrieu's last-minute push for the Keystone XL Pipeline is a case in point.

However, according to govtrack.us, Vitter was one of the least bipartisan senators in the 113th Congress. Only 8% of the 85 bills and resolutions he introduced had both a Democratic and a Republican cosponsor.