Knowlegis Hates People From S.C.
For those of you not familiar with Knowlegis, they are a group in Washington that supplements lobbyist efforts in D.C. by providing information on pending legislation and Congressional staffers.
This week they released their “Congressional Power Rankings”, and managed to royally screw every major politician from our state out of the ranking they deserved.
The most blatant example of this was Rep. Jim Clyburn’s initial ranking of 77th despite the fact he holds the third ranking leadership position in the House of Representatives as Majority Whip. Knowlegis realized they had erred on Clyburn’s ranking after his press secretary, Kristie Greco, called and complained. It turned out that an error in the data entry process led to this ranking error, but the newly adjusted rankings placed Clyburn at only 30th place. While I would certainly not place Clyburn in the top five because certain committee chairman are more powerful, I still have to think that he is at least in the top ten or fifteen.
But Knowlegis’ prejudice towards South Carolina doesn’t stop with Clyburn. The Politico notes:
The rankings also seem to ignore what daily Congress watchers have witnessed on the House and Senate floors at times. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), for example, is ranked 87th in the Senate, yet regular Senate watchers over the past couple years have seen the way DeMint can take over the chamber’s proceedings and singlehandedly filibuster major bills.
I also think they underestimate the influence of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who placed 60th. Sen. Graham often leads the charge for compromise on key pieces of legislation, and he will likely serve as Sen. McCain’s liaison in the Senate by blocking votes on key pieces of legislation that could hurt McCain’s chances of winning the nomination.
Knowlegis also only ranks Rep. John Spratt at 133rd despite the fact he currently serves as the Chairman of the Budget Committee and is the second ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.