Congressman Michael Grimm, The Ideological Middle Man?

A new study found the Congressman Michael Grimm may not be the die-hard Tea Party conservative his opponents make him out to be. In fact, the report says he’s right smack in the middle of the nation’s ideological spectrum.

The Daily News reports:

A National Journal study released Thursday found that Republican Rep. Michael Grimm of Staten Island is at the ideological center of the House of Representatives: 217 members are more liberal and 217 members are more conservative.

In a remarkable coincidence, the lawmaker he replaced, Democrat Michael McMahon, was found to be at the ideological center in the same study of House members released three years ago.

Told of the findings, Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College, was stunned.

“I guess if you want to know where the real heartland is, you don’t go to Iowa — you go to Staten Island,” Muzzio said.

The study is based on the votes of Grimm and his colleagues on 116 bills that indicated ideological leanings. Of course, some of those bills included those for Sandy relief, which many Republicans outside of the affected areas opposed and may have pushed Grimm closer to the center.

Still, the report is great timing for Grimm, who is about to be the target of an onslaught of online ads from Democrats, painting him as an out of touch right-wing radical, whose unwillingness to compromise will cost thousands of jobs.

The Daily News, in another article, reports:

The new ad campaign, shared first with the Daily News ahead of its release, seeks to hold Republicans like Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm responsible for the billions of dollars in automatic -many say draconian – spending cuts that are set to take effect starting March 1. The ads from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are targeting a total of 27 House Republicans.

… The new ad campaign, shared first with the Daily News ahead of its release, seeks to hold Republicans like Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm responsible for the billions of dollars in automatic -many say draconian – spending cuts that are set to take effect starting March 1. The ads from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are targeting a total of 27 House Republicans.

The ad targeting Grimm is below:

What do you think? Grimm: Ideological Middle Man? Or Right-Wing Extremist?