Blog-5 Ideology and Voting

Ideology and Voting

DW-Nominate Score:

According to Voteview.com, which provides the statistical information of Congress, in the 113th Senate, Senator Lee received a score of 0.991. This indicates that Lee is considered to be more conservative than any other Senators. 

Following the website of Project Vote Smart, which discusses and interprets a Senator's position on certain issues and ideology, tells us that Lee refused to tell them where he stand on any of the issues addressed on the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders. However, their in dept research based on their public statements, voting records and evaluation of interests groups tells us that he voted pro-life on Abortion and Reproductive Issues. Also issues such as Gun policy and Immigration, he voted aligned with his party views.  Also, his top sector in funding was on Real Estate and Finance.


Also based on Open Congress, a site that calculates the voting patterns of Senators, Lee has a percentage of 93% in case of voting with the party's interests which wasn't surprising for me at all. The following excerpt shows the list of Senators that Mike Lee frequently votes with:

And according to GovTrack, a site which provides substantial information of  Members of Congress, Senator Lee ranks 1st lowest among the Senator Sophomores in writing Bipartisan bills and 3rd lowest among Senate Republicans in joining Bipartisan bills.  

Blog 4: Committee Assignments

Committee Assignments: 

According to United States senate website, Mike Lee currently serves on the U.S Senate Committee on Joint Economic Committee, Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on the Judiciary. And following up with his press releases, serving on the Energy and Natural Resources committee which according to Lee, is particularly interesting as it enable him to focus on freeing up federal lands for economic uses to create jobs, encourage economic growth and lead the U.S towards economic independence. Earlier this year, he introduced an amendment that would make federal permitting for oil and gas development more efficient and force the Bureau of Management to follow current law requiring all applications to be approved or denied within 30 days. 

Lee is also a member of The Senate Judiciary Committee which is responsible for holding hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges. Senator Lee's professional background will also give him that "x factor" in this assignment. 

On the other hand, the Foreign Relations committee addresses national security, US boundaries, and as well as foreign, economic, military, technical and humanitarian assistance. 

The Joint Economic Committee is a bicameral committee that provides continuous support and attention to the US economy. 

Lee is also the Chairmen of Senate Steering Committee  and also the Chairmen of Water and Power and Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights subcommittees. He is also serving as a member on the following subcommittees: National Park; Public Lands,Forests, and Mining; Immigration and National Interest; Privacy Technology and Law, according to govtrack.us.

And in Lee's words“I’m thrilled about these committee assignments and look forward to having an active role in each. These seats will allow me to work on issues that are crucial to the Utah delegation, as well as the country as a whole. It’s time for the real work to begin.”

His most recent activity includes his Economic Growth and Family Fairness Tax Reform Plan along with Senator Marco Rubio ( R-FL) that is meant to spur economic growth and provide relief to working families as per as Washington Examiner says.

                                      Figure: Lee's committee assignment list according to govtrack.us.

Blog 3: Electoral Circumstances

Senator Mike Lee: Electoral Circumstances 

Last Election:

Considering the past senate race of 2010, Senator Mike Lee defeated his democratic challenger Sam Granato by a margin of 61.56% to 32.77%, according to the national journal says. 

Following up on the campaign finance from that race, Lee managed to raise a total amount of $1,710,429 of that he spent $1,650,993 with $54,233 cash in hand. A huge percentage of his campaign finance came from small and large individual contributions which sums of to 74% of the total. 

Upcoming Election:

For the upcoming primary election of 2016, no one has declared yet apart from the incumbent Lee running for a re-election. But there are possible chances for him to see Mike Levitt, one of the founders of  A Scott Anderson, CEO of Zion's Bank, Laine Beattie, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and former President of the Utah State Senate as his challengers. Also adding to that, Utah is one of the state which has mixed primary system which means party decides who gets to vote.

Campaign Finance:

• As Open Secret says during the campaign cycle of 2009-2014, he has $367,264 cash in hand.
• Top Contributors are lawyers and firms- a total of $ 153,502.
• Spent $ 3,490,769 on his senate race of 2009-14.

major issues:

• Immigration
• Protect 2a
• Conservative reform act

This are the following bills or issues that senator lee has shown support for. also there are few other issues that lee uses at his platform considering the ongoing issues that are prominent in media and television.

Prediction:

Recent polls says that the public opinion has rebounded to 54% as voters have a favorable view of his job approval. Last october, Senator's poll dropped to 40% during the government shut down. His improved polls can be considered for the following factors like as he has been arguing that republicans need an affirmative agenda that helps the middle class families and lifts up the poor. His ideas include a boost to tax credit for raising children and providing higher education facilities. Overall, he is in pretty stable stage right now for the upcoming election. But it is also said that he may see challenges from both party next year with democratic candidate Rep. Jim Matheson and from the republican side, there is three names: Josh romney, son of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Former Utah Republican Party Chairman Thomas Wright and former state Senator Dan Liljenquist.

Senator Mike Lee: Strategy

Blog#2: Strategy

For this second blog, I did had a hard time finding more about my senator's upcoming travel dates and schedules. However, his Twitter account was helpful enough for me to know more about his speech at Utah State Legislature earlier last week.

Press Releases:

Following that, his website does a pretty good job about updating his recent activities and press releases. Considering some of his latest press release which includes his position on the bicameral press conference to highlight the need for the Senate to proceed to debate on the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Also, earlier this year, Lee in collaboration of Congressman Luke Messar of Indiana introduced legislation to make a quality K-12 education more accessible and affordable to low income families and students calling it as The Enhancing Educational Opportunities for All Act. Adding to that, Lee announced that he will chair the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights whose main focus is to ensure that the nation's antitrust law's are faithfully executed.

Focusing on some of my other interesting findings from his homepage and twitter account, was his strategy of using the tele-townhall service every month which gives him the opportunity to communicate directly with his constituents while sitting in his D.C office. I think this is a really effective initiative as a MC to be in touch with his own state even from outside which also enhances his "name-recognition" or advertising, credit claiming and position taking-the three main factors  according to Mayhew that the MCs does for getting re-elected in the office. 

Apart from that, Lee is also maintaining a "Mobile Office"for his constituents who are unable to meet his staffs at the other two offices at Salt Lake City and St. George, which also indicates his strategy to be in touch with his fellow constituents and keep them updated about what he is doing for them( what else does a voter wants?)


“I want my office to be open and available to all Utahns,” said Senator Lee.  “The best way to achieve that is by going directly to them.  Utahns deal with a range of federal issues – from Social Security to veterans benefits to navigating the bureaucracy of the federal government – and I want to be there to help them get answers"- Senator Lee.

He also maintains his Youtube channel, where all his town hall meetings and media appearances are being posted regularly.

Mailers: 

Apart from meeting him in his office physically, Lee also encourages his constituents to sign up for his newsletters which includes regular updates from all of his recent sponsorship and co-sponsorship bills, agenda alerts, issue alerts and such. He also included specific issues depending upon the constituent's individual interests, that includes Education and Health Care, Energy and Land Management, Foreign policy and Veterans etc.

Bills Sponsored/ Co-sponsored:

According to the congress website, Senator Lee has introduced the following bills recently:

• S.500- A bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act
• S.502- A bill to focus limited federal resources on the most serious offenders.
• S.490- A bill to achieve domestic energy independence by empowering States to control the development and production of all forms of energy on all available Federal land.
• S.507-  A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to permit employers to pay higher wages to their employees.

Also as per as OpenSecrets says, during the 113th Congress Legislation, Senator Lee has sponsored 28 bills and co-sponsored 156 bills.

The Junior Senator From The State of Utah: Mike Lee

Who am I?

Michael Shumway "Mike" Lee

Biological Information:

Born: June 4th, 1971.(43 years old)

Residence: Alpine, Utah ( Born in Mesa, Arizona. Grew up in Utah and Mclean, Virginia)

Education: Graduated from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Career: After graduating from Law School, Lee spent several years as an attorney with the law firm of Sidley and Austin specializing in appellate and supreme court litigation, and following that he also served as an assistant US Attorney at Salt Lake City arguing cases before the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  All throughout his career, Lee was recognized and appreciated as an outstanding practitioner based on his fair judgement and dedication in the court room and his in-depth knowledge about the constitution. Adding to that, Lee also served the State of Utah as Governor Jon Huntsman's General Counsel. Later on, he returned to private practice in 2007.

Religion: Mormon

Family: In 1993, Lee married Sharon Burr and now they are residing in Alpine, Utah with their three children: John David, James Rex and Eliza Rose Lee. Lee is the second cousin to former US Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, and current US senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, and as well as former Senator Gordon H.Smith of Oregon.

Political Party: Republican.

Tenure:
Assumed office from- January 3rd, 2011
Lee is the member of the Judiciary Committee, and serves as Chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee protecting business competition and personal freedom. Following that, in the 114th Congress, Lee also began his tenure as the Chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, where his job is to introduce innovative solutions to issues facing the American people.

Fun facts!

• He is the POLITICIAN Mike Lee, not the BOXER Mike Lee! Google might confuse you at the beginning!
• He speaks fluent spanish, a language that he picked when he was in a missionary in the Southern Rio Grand Valley, Texas which gave him the opportunity to speak with Pope Francis in spanish. Isn't that so cool?!

Senator Mike Lee's official website :http://www.lee.senate.gov/public/

The State of Utah

Population: 2,942,902 (2014 est)

Capital: Salt Lake City.

Major Densely Populated City: Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo, West Jordan.

Gained statehood in January 4, 1986( 45th)

Ethnic Makeup according to 2010: White- 86.1%, Asian-2%, Native- 1.2%, Black- 1.1%, Native Hawaiin- 0.9%, Other race- 6%, Two or more races- 2.7%

Religion- Mormon- 58%, Catholics-10%,Other faiths- 1%.

Fun facts again!

• The average snowfall in the mountains near Salt Lake City is about 500 inches.
• State Symbol- The Beehive which symbolizes thrift and industry.
• The name Utah comes from the Native American Ute tribe and means people of the mountains
• Utah has six national forests: Ashley, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-LaSal, Uinta and Wasatch-Cache.

 To discover more fascinating and fun facts about Utah, take a tour of this link-  http://www.50states.com/facts/utah.htm#.VN0R8_m-2Fw