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2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
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Author:  Godzilla1960 [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:18 pm ]
Post subject:  2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Since 1953 the Congressional Quarterly, known for its impartial coverage of Capital Hill, has been tracking the percentage of partisan votes taken in the House and Senate. A roll call vote is considered partisan if a majority of Democrats votes against a majority of Republicans.

In spite of voters in the 2009 election sending a message of clear support for bipartisanship this year was the most partisan year since CQ began keeping track of partisan voting. Both Senate and House Democrats voted with other Democrats 91% of the time. House Republicans voted with other Republicans 87% of the time and Senate Republicans stuck with their own party 85% of the time.

Oddly enough, in this divided, bipartisan environment, President Obama has been the most successful president in passing his legislation since the Congressional Quarterly started keeping record of such things. Said the author of the article,

In a strictly partisan world, you have either great productivity or total gridlock. If one party dominates and holds it together, things move. But if there's divided government, everything screeches to a halt. That could easily happen after the 2010 elections, where Congress changes from the most productive since the New Deal and the Great Society — to no productivity at all.

CQ: 2009 Was The Most Partisan Year Ever
by Andrea Seabrook

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =122441095
Author:  Crosscheck [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Other: My representatives vote however they think the Berkeley gold standard of liberalism / quasi-Marxism would have them vote.
Sometimes it's obvious they don't care about their own career, party or country.

This year has been partisan because that's how Democrats have been driving the train. Of course Republican's can't support cap and trade or this mess of health care "reform" on principle alone.
There's a philosophical divide built in to EVERYTHING the Democrats are trying to accomplish.

Obama has been successful at passing legislation?
:lol: Oh man...that's rich.
Sure...he spent us into a hole in 3 months, bought a couple car and insurance companies and we've been watching this health care debacle ever since then.
No health care, no cap and trade, no treaty from Copenhagen, Gitmo still open, Iran still building nukes....please enlighten me on his accomplishments...I must have missed them on page 24 of the NYT.

Bang up job Dems.
Author:  Crosscheck [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Oh wait...this is how they measure "success"
Quote:
"His success was 96.7 percent on all the votes where we said he had a clear position in both the House and the Senate. That's an extraordinary number," Cranford says.


good job Obama...on the issues where you stated a preference, your party voted with your opinion.
That's no measure of "success". Sorry, that's silly and irrelevant.
Author:  Godzilla1960 [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Crosscheck wrote:
Oh wait...this is how they measure "success"
Quote:
"His success was 96.7 percent on all the votes where we said he had a clear position in both the House and the Senate. That's an extraordinary number," Cranford says.


good job Obama...on the issues where you stated a preference, your party voted with your opinion.
That's no measure of "success". Sorry, that's silly and irrelevant.

I'm confused. Is it a measure of success then when the president is for legislation, but it doesn't pass? I thought the point of getting elected to office was to, you know, make laws and stuff.
Author:  Hammygoodness [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Godzilla1960 wrote:
Crosscheck wrote:
Oh wait...this is how they measure "success"
Quote:
"His success was 96.7 percent on all the votes where we said he had a clear position in both the House and the Senate. That's an extraordinary number," Cranford says.


good job Obama...on the issues where you stated a preference, your party voted with your opinion.
That's no measure of "success". Sorry, that's silly and irrelevant.

I'm confused. Is it a measure of success then when the president is for legislation, but it doesn't pass? I thought the point of getting elected to office was to, you know, make laws and stuff.

No, no. The point of getting elected to office is to, you know, get paid son.

Ham
Author:  Godzilla1960 [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Hammygoodness wrote:
No, no. The point of getting elected to office is to, you know, get paid son.

Ham

Or, in some cases, to get laid.

Image
Author:  Crosscheck [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Godzilla1960 wrote:
I'm confused. Is it a measure of success then when the president is for legislation, but it doesn't pass? I thought the point of getting elected to office was to, you know, make laws and stuff.

Having a rubber stamp legislature is not a measure of success for a President, it's a measure of success for party unity.

So I guess Democrats can be proud of that.

And no, a President is there to lead and make executive decisions...not "make laws and stuff". That's part of Barry's main shortcoming. He's never been and still isn't a convincing leader or commanding executive.
Author:  Montalo [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
when i do vote, i will vote for the strongest person who most closely fits my morals
because of this, i expect them to follow through on this, and make laws based on the morals that i will vote them in for
Author:  Godzilla1960 [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Crosscheck wrote:
Godzilla1960 wrote:
I'm confused. Is it a measure of success then when the president is for legislation, but it doesn't pass? I thought the point of getting elected to office was to, you know, make laws and stuff.

Having a rubber stamp legislature is not a measure of success for a President, it's a measure of success for party unity.

So I guess Democrats can be proud of that.

And no, a President is there to lead and make executive decisions...not "make laws and stuff". That's part of Barry's main shortcoming. He's never been and still isn't a convincing leader or commanding executive.

Are you a leader if you are out there leading, but nobody is following?

It sounds like Obama is leading, if he is getting his legislation pushed through Congress. I am quite surprised to see the Democrats so successfully following the model the GOP established.

Also, it seems that most Americans disagree with your view of the president as a commanding leader. The most recent poll shows that most people approve of the way he has handled the terrorist threat and will keep Americans safe.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/11/terror.poll/
Author:  Montalo [ Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
<<They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.>>

none other than from George Washington himself

leaders should be defined as strong individuals, who do what is best for the country, and for the best of all humans, and to help preserve life from all moments, conception to natural death

the parties however, all sides, are doing what is best for their party, and themselves, and they are forgetting that they are public servants

Public Servant- one who serves the common good of the public, and of human kind

parties in general managed to fuck this up majorily
Author:  Crosscheck [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 12:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Godzilla1960 wrote:

Also, it seems that most Americans disagree with your view of the president as a commanding leader. The most recent poll shows that most people approve of the way he has handled the terrorist threat and will keep Americans safe.

Who mentioned terrorism?
From your article:
Quote:
"The public seems to react calmly to individual incidents, possibly because most Americans believe that the government cannot prevent every single terrorist plot from occurring."

Six in 10 said terrorists always will find a way to launch an attack, no matter what the government does, he added -- identical to the number who felt that way during the Bush administration.

So confidence in the ineptitude of our governmental bureaucracies remains unchanged...woohoo.

By far, the defining issue (Democrats didn't pick) of Obama's first year in office: The economy
http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/
As of last month, 53% disapproval...but since this thread is about partisanship, let's throw out the partisans and look at who actually matters; independents 35% approve, and 57% disapprove

By far the defining issue (Democrats did pick) of Obama's first year in office: Health Care reform
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls ... -1130.html
38.3% favor 51% Oppose

Independents are souring on Obama and the Democrats in congress on every issue I've seen them polled about.
Partisans will be partisan, let the independents be the judge of his success.
Author:  slesh [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 12:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
Now Godzilla, you asked what I "Expected" my rep to do. You didn't ask what I would like them to do, so my vote is the one on party lines.

I posted this once before, but in case you didn't get a chance to read it. My Grandfather raised me in the absence of my bio daddy. He said this to me.

"One does not enter into public service for personal gain, one enters into public service to answer in a call within ones self to serve a greater purpose".

Take it at face value I guess.
Author:  Godzilla1960 [ Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 2009 Most Partisan Year Ever
slesh wrote:
My Grandfather said this to me:

"One does not enter into public service for personal gain, one enters into public service to answer in a call within ones self to serve a greater purpose".

That is old school.

I believe that there are good and decent men and women who go into politics for that very reason, but find themselves in a system that requires them to raise money non-stop and campaign round the clock to meet the demands of the 24-hour news cycle. Districts have been drawn so that people can get elected by only appealling to the most extreme eliments within their own party (Democrats and Republicans), so that modern politicians have no incentive to compromise, in fact quite the opposite.

It is time that we took the census and redistricting out of the hands of politicians and allow an independent commission to draw congressional boundries that will return the moderates of both parties to positions of greater influence in Congress.
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