Politicians, bloggers weigh in
Washington, one could argue, is all about power -- amassing it, dispensing it, and lambasting those who employ it. No wonder, then, Knowlegis's inaugural "Power Rankings" of lawmakers generated buzz on Capitol Hill and online.

The effort marked the culmination of five months of work by the young company, an affiliate of Capitol Advantage whose official aim is to "enhance customers' capabilities to interact with elected officials." Knowlegis measured and weighted 15 criteria -- including committee memberships, legislative activity, media profile and campaign contributions -- to give scores to each legislator. (Full story)

"We offer it up as a ... gauge," said Brad Fitch, CEO of Knowlegis. "We tried to represent the things that actually represent a power and a put a point value on it."

Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-North Carolina), for instance, issued a press release stating he was "humbled by the recognition" of being the House's 44th most influential member.

Others were less enthusiastic. A spokesman for Ohio Rep. Deborah Pryce, ranked 32, called the ordering "ridiculous," according to The Hill. The bottom dwelling senator and congressman -- Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. John Campbell of California, both Republicans -- downplayed the results, the Washington Post reported. DeMint pointed to his Palmetto State roots in claiming he'd hopefully have "another 50 years or so to prove 'em wrong" -- a reference to Sen. Strom Thurmond, who represented the state for 47 years. A Campbell spokesman said dryly, "I guess we're not that insignificant if The Washington Post is calling us."

Such reactions are no surprise, said Fitch, given the never-ending struggle for influence inside the Beltway.

"Anybody who comes to Washington wants power, like moths to a flame," he said. "It's not just to fill your ego or get a good seat at the theater. ... They want the power because they want to do the 'right' things."

The political blogosphere also lit up. Online commentators from Cleveland, Ohio, to Orange County, California, weighed in -- expressing surprise, insight, and criticism with where local luminaries stood.

Republicans routinely scored higher than their Democratic counterparts, largely by virtue of the fact that they control both chambers of Congress and the White House. Ohio GOP chair Bob Bennett fed off of this trend, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the results showed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland and senate candidate Sherrod Brown "clearly [have] no influential ability."

Several left-leaning blogs -- including Breaking Blue and a discussion on Gen. Wesley Clark's PAC page -- deemed the findings "interesting." Others were sharply critical, perhaps best laid bare in a two-word entry on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's blog: "Big joke."

Fitch himself couldn't resist the chance to chime in, posting to the generally left-of-center Carpetbagger Report. Among other things, the commentary said "the results unfairly favor Republicans" and called the rankings "infotainment," a "gimmick" and "stunt" by a "for-profit company."

Fitch, a "Hill Rat" for 13 years under Democratic congressmen (though his first Capitol Hill job was for former Rep. Jack Kemp, a Republican) before working for five years at the nonpartisan Congressional Management Foundation, denied any "nefarious motives" in his online response. He also admitted "these rankings don't paint a complete picture."

Fitch elaborated in an interview with CNN.com, noting "definite limitations of the research." But the self-professed "political junkie" defended the rankings, calling it "one tool" that can be used by citizens, businesses and organizations to assess specific Congressmen's influence.