Does "than" mean "in comparison with" here?

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Here, "more...than...more", the word than is used in an equal comparison, while nomally the comparison would be unequal.

Context:

1)The non-partisan National Journal rates a Senator's votes by what
percentage of the Senate voted more liberally than he or she, and what
percentage more conservatively, in three policy areas: economic,
social, and foreign. For 2005–2006 (as reported in the 2008 Almanac
of American Politics), McCain's average ratings were as follows:
economic policy: 59 percent conservative and 41 percent liberal; social
policy: 54 percent conservative / 38 percent liberal;, and foreign policy:
56 percent conservative / 43 percent liberal.[287]

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@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

Here, "more...than...more", the word than is used in an equal comparison

It is not. There is no equal comparison, but there are two unequal ones. I slightly rearrange the quoted section, and add implied words in square brackets, and I assume a male Senator for the sake of brevity:

The non-partisan National Journal rates a Senator's votes by:

What percentage of the Senate voted more liberally than he [did]

and

what percentage [of the Senate voted] more conservatively [than he did],

in three policy areas: (etc)

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

oristarA wrote:
Here, "more...than...more", the word than is used in an equal comparison

It is not. There is no equal comparison, but there are two unequal ones. I slightly rearrange the quoted section, and add implied words in square brackets, and I assume a male Senator for the sake of brevity:

The non-partisan National Journal rates a Senator's votes by:

What percentage of the Senate voted more liberally than he [did]

and

what percentage [of the Senate voted] more conservatively [than he did],

in three policy areas: (etc)

Excellent!

The non-partisan National Journal rates a Senator's votes by:

What percentage of the Senate voted more liberally than he [nomally did]

and

what percentage [of the Senate voted] more conservatively [than he nomally did],

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I don't know why you wrote "nomally"... did you mean normally? That word would be inappropriate since the percentage is calculated for each vote separately.

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

I don't know why you wrote "nomally"... did you mean normally? That word would be inappropriate since the percentage is calculated for each vote separately.

Sorry for the typo. Yes, normally.

Well, as I reread your reply and found my understanding has not been improved much though your reply really helped to decipher the grammar.

Let's reread the context:

Quote:

The non-partisan National Journal rates a Senator's votes by what
percentage of the Senate voted more liberally than he or she, and what
percentage more conservatively, in three policy areas: economic,
social, and foreign.

1: The task is to rate a Senator's votes
2: The method is "by"
3: The concrete content of the "by":
"by what percentage of the Senate voted more liberally than he or she, and what percentage more conservatively"

4: Supposed there are only 100 members (senators) in the Senate, now vote more liberally. Well, how to calculate the percentage?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

4: Supposed there are only 100 members (senators) in the Senate, now vote more liberally. Well, how to calculate the percentage?

Actually, 100 is exactly how many there really are.

50 states, and 2 senators from each state.

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but:

For the person with the most conservative voting record, they would say 0% of the other senators voted more conservatively than that person, and 100% of the other senators voted more liberally than that person.

For the person with the most liberal voting record, they would say 0% of the other senators voted more liberally than that person, and 100% of the other Senators voted more conservatively than that person.

If a senator had 50% of the other senators voting more liberally, and 50% of the other senators voting more conservatively, that senator might be considered a moderate.

1 Reply

@oralloy,

oralloy wrote:

oristarA wrote:
4: Supposed there are only 100 members (senators) in the Senate, now vote more liberally. Well, how to calculate the percentage?

Actually, 100 is exactly how many there really are.

50 states, and 2 senators from each state.

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but:

For the person with the most conservative voting record, they would say 0% of the other senators voted more conservatively than that person, and 100% of the other senators voted more liberally than that person.

For the person with the most liberal voting record, they would say 0% of the other senators voted more liberally than that person, and 100% of the other Senators voted more conservatively than that person.

If a senator had 50% of the other senators voting more liberally, and 50% of the other senators voting more conservatively, that senator might be considered a moderate.

Excellent!

In "McCain's average ratings were as follows:
economic policy: 59 percent conservative and 41 percent liberal; social
policy: 54 percent conservative / 38 percent liberal;, and foreign policy:
56 percent conservative / 43 percent liberal.[287] ,"
does '59 percent conservative and 41 percent liberal" refer to 59% of the other Senators voted more conservatively than McCain and 41% of the other Senators voted more liberally than him?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

does '59 percent conservative and 41 percent liberal" refer to 59% of the other Senators voted more conservatively than McCain and 41% of the other Senators voted more liberally than him?

I think it is the reverse. A higher conservative number would mean he was more conservative, which would mean that more of the other senators voted more liberally than he did.

So "59% conservative" would mean that 59% of the other senators voted more liberally than he did.

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Does "than" mean "in comparison with" here?

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