Dole ranked eighth of '02 senators

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:15:02 -0400

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole also ranks poorly compared to the rest of her class.

Of the nine senators elected in 2002 still in office, Dole is ranked eighth in power rankings put together by the nonpartisan Congressional data company Knowlegis.

Here's the ranks of her classmates:

Lamar Alexander: 32nd
Lindsey Graham: 60th
Saxby Chambliss: 61st
Mark Pryor: 62nd
John Cornyn: 80th
Norm Coleman: 82nd
John Sununu: 89th
Elizabeth Dole: 93rd
Lisa Murkowski: 96th

Except for Pryor, all of Dole's 2002 classmates are Republicans.

Knowlegis cofounder Brad Fitch said that comparing senators to others who took office in the same year is the best way to gauge their power, since seniority gives senators more power.

Democrats file complaint about Dole

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:05:25 -0400

The N.C. Democratic Party has filed a complaint against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

In a letter today to the heads of the Senate Ethics Committee, chairman Jerry Meek writes that Dole has used the same picture of herself on both her official Senate Web site and on her private re-election campaign site.

"The use of such a photograph is an improper use of official government property and may confuse and mislead voters who compare the two websites," he wrote Sens. Barbara Boxer and John Cornyn.

Under Senate Ethics Rules, government resources cannot be used for campaign purposes.

Meek argues that since the photograph of Dole is the only one on her Web site, it "can only be assumed" that it is her official photograph, and therefore can't be used on the campaign site.

Dole is apparently fond of the photograph. Her Senate staff asked Dome to replace an older picture of her on our political profiles page on our Web site with it several months ago.