Card image cap

Lamar Smith's Ratings and Endorsements on Issue: Arts, Entertainment, and History

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

80%
2013
80%
2013
27%
2013
27%
2013
15%
2013
15%
2013
20%
2013
20%
2013
77%
2013
77%
2013
85%
2013
85%
2013
13%
2013
13%
2013
28%
2012
28%
2012
23%
2012
23%
2012
70%
2012
70%
2012
72%
2012
72%
2012
75%
2012
75%
2012
67%
2012
67%
2012
29%
2012
29%
2012
32%
2012
32%
2012
100%
2011
100%
2011
73%
2011
73%
2011
25%
2011
25%
2011
74%
2011
74%
2011
27%
2011
27%
2011
79%
2011
79%
2011
0%
2011
21%
2011
21%
2011
69%
2010
69%
2010
17%
2010
17%
2010
18%
2010
18%
2010
29%
2010
29%
2010
82%
2010
82%
2010
88%
2010
88%
2010
83%
2010
83%
2010
0%
2010
22%
2009
22%
2009
83%
2009
83%
2009
17%
2009
17%
2009
17%
2009
17%
2009
77%
2009
77%
2009
83%
2009
83%
2009
75%
2009
75%
2009
0%
2009
77%
2008
77%
2008
12%
2008
12%
2008
80.8%
2008
80.8%
2008
19%
2008
19%
2008
88%
2008
88%
2008
20%
2008
20%
2008
74%
2008
74%
2008
22%
2008
22%
2008
0%
2007
80.5%
2007
80.5%
2007
75%
2007
75%
2007
19.5%
2007
19.5%
2007
21%
2007
21%
2007
72%
2007
72%
2007
21%
2007
21%
2007
78%
2007
78%
2007
21%
2006
21%
2006
9%
2006
77%
2006
77%
2006
72%
2006
72%
2006
90%
2006
90%
2006
27%
2006
27%
2006
19.7%
2006
19.7%
2006
80.3%
2006
80.3%
2006
90%
2005
90%
2005
9%
2005
0%
2005
85%
2005
85%
2005
10%
2005
10%
2005
89%
2005
89%
2005
88%
2005
88%
2005
14%
2005
14%
2005
9%
2004
9%
2004
17%
2004
17%
2004
78%
2004
78%
2004
85%
2004
85%
2004
88%
2004
88%
2004
9%
2003
9%
2003
0%
2003
84%
2003
84%
2003
89%
2003
89%
2003
87%
2003
87%
2003
5%
2003
91%
2003
91%
2003
75%
2002
75%
2002
79%
2002
79%
2002
68%
2002
68%
2002
32%
2002
32%
2002
78%
2002
78%
2002
0%
2002
21%
2002
21%
2002
15%
2002
15%
2002
0%
2001
85%
2001
85%
2001
15%
2001
15%
2001
86%
2001
86%
2001
14%
2001
14%
2001
81%
2001
81%
2001
94%
2000
94%
2000
12%
2000
12%
2000
0%
2000
30%
2000
30%
2000
68%
2000
68%
2000
78%
2000
78%
2000
72%
1999
72%
1999
15%
1999
15%
1999
0%
1999
81%
1999
81%
1999
25%
1999
25%
1999
84%
1999
84%
1999
68%
1998
68%
1998
27%
1998
27%
1998
0%
1998
81%
1998
81%
1998
88%
1998
88%
1998
14%
1998
14%
1998
24%
1996
24%
1996
79%
1996
79%
1996
0%
1996
73%
1996
73%
1996
90%
1996
90%
1996
0%
1996
0%
2003
50%
2017-2018
arrow_upward