A new Washington Post study confirms that Democrats in Congress are voting vastly more in partisan lock-step with their party than Republicans.
That's true even if you count a Republican Congressman who's been dead for months -- which, as the Anchoress points out, seems rather unfair. She suggests that it's another case of media bias that a dead Republican was put at the top of the list, and there's really no other explanation for it. (Update: A co-author of the study says in a comment at Anchoress that Congresspersons with equal scores were put in alphabetical order.)
And guess who's the most partisan of them all? (Among the living, that is.) Why, it's San Francisco Democrat and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi!
By the way, how does a dead Republican who voted along with his party 100% of the time -- but only for 9 measly votes -- get ranked as more partisan than Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who voted with her party 100% of time for 81 votes -- nine times as many? Logic compels the conclusion that the Congressman with far more votes ranks highest, as between the two. (Since a co-author says that Congresspeople who had the same percentage of votes were put in alphabetical order, we'll have to draw our own conclusions. Obviously Nancy Pelosi "wins" hands down.)
I guess this is all good news if you're a liberal Democrat. You're getting every bit of partisanship your officeholders can muster.
But next time you hear that Congress is stalled on an issue because Republicans won't compromise, remember this: It's the Democrats in Congress who are marching in strict lock-step, unwilling to swerve one iota from the party line -- regardless of how facts and circumstances change. Let's hope there are no steep cliffs in sight.
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