Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and current Governor of Hawaii Neil Abercrombie has appointed his Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz as a replacement for deceased U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye.

Schatz probably will not make it into office in time to vote for or against Senate legislation that would renew the massive electronic spying network created under the FISA Amendments Act. Soon enough, however, he’ll be casting votes and we’ll understand better what kind of political ideals Schatz is willing to represent.

For now, we have the insights provided by Project Vote Smart to give us a clue.

In 2005, the AFL-CIO gave Schatz a high rating: 86 percent. The Sierra Club has given Schatz four rating ranging from 82 percent to 100 percent. The National Rifle Association gives Schatz a grade of C.

Schatz has repeatedly refused to give answers to surveys such as the National Political Awareness Test.

Some sources are describing Schatz as a “progressive”, but the boundaries of that term have become rather loose in the last few years. Schatz has not worked directly as a politician in the federal government before. Whether Schatz is willing to act as a liberal in the U.S. Senate, after Inouye’s center right perspective, is something we can only know after Schatz takes his seat.