2014 Vote Studies Presidential Support Running on Empty Few bills, but many nominees, approved last year BY SHAWN ZELLER of the votes on which the president had a MIRROR IMAGES Nothing worked for Democrats in 2014. position, close to the record score of 96 per- President Barack Obama won on House In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid of cent in 2013. But the Republican House was votes at the lowest rate in the 61 years Nevada tried to shield his caucus from tough setting records for its opposition to the presi- that CQ Roll Call has been tracking votes, limiting amendments and keeping the dent. Of 66 House votes on which Obama presidential votes. Because of a glut agenda focused on only the issues that Dem- had a view in 2014, only 10 went Obama’s of nomination votes, Obama’s Senate ocrats wanted to run on in November, such way, a 15.2 percent success rate that is the score was the second highest ever. as equal pay for women and an increased lowest in the 61 years that CQ Roll Call has minimum wage. It didn’t help. Endangered been tracking presidential success. The aver- Share of votes on which the Democrats in the South and West were ham- age Republican representative voted with president took a clear position: mered in the midterm elections for sticking Obama 12 percent of the time, matching the House Senate with Reid and President Barack Obama. record low that the party set in 2013. 11.7% 39.6% In the House, Republican Speaker John A. Because of the 60-vote threshold needed second-highest most Boehner of Ohio pushed through bill after to advance controversial legislation, Obama since since 1999 1968 bill designed to please the GOP’s base and also had a bad year in the Senate on policy pressure moderate Democrats to pick sides. votes. His 55 percent success rate on them 66 out of 562 145 out of 366 The bills aimed to scale back government was his lowest ever. Average for both chambers: 22.7% regulation, overturn the 2010 health care law But look at the Senate voting more broad- and overhaul the bureaucracy. While they ly and it tells a different story. When confir- died in the Senate, the GOP won its largest mation votes are added to the policy votes, How often the president won: House majority since the 71st Congress of Obama succeeded 93.1 percent of the time, House Senate 1929-31. the second-highest success score in the his- 93.1% For Obama, it meant that 2014 was a lost tory of CQ’s survey, trailing only Obama’s 15.2% second- year for policy. With the Senate and House 98.7 percent score in 2009, when he enjoyed lowest on record highest unable to agree on substantive issues beyond a huge Democratic congressional majority. on record funding the government and a new farm bill, This time, it was the result of Senate Demo- 10 out of 66 135 out of 145 Obama had little to sign and nothing to veto. crats’ 2013 decision to drop the threshold Gridlock on Capitol Hill was the dominant for approving most judicial and executive Average for both chambers: 68.7% theme, except in one respect: The Senate branch nominees from 60 votes to a simple voted to confirm a record number of judi- majority. cial and executive nominees because a rule Reid took up 125 nominees, the most Average chamber presidential support scores: change made it hard to filibuster. since CQ began tracking nomination votes When the government is divided, especial- in 1988. The Senate confirmed 124 of them, House Senate 100% 100% ly a government riven by polarized parties, it’s boosting senators’ presidential support 80 80 60 60 a recipe for gridlock, says Scot Schraufnagel, scores on both sides of the aisle. Republicans 40 40 a political scientist at Northern Illinois Uni- voted against Obama uniformly on the policy 20 20 0 0 versity. “It’s easier for the parties to pass the votes where the president had a view, but D 81% D 95% buck and say they’re not accountable for the there were only 20 of those. Because many of Fourth-highest on record Second-highest on lack of action.” the nominees were not controversial, the av- (Obama holds top six record (Obama holds scores) top six scores) In most ways, the votes that Congress erage Republican senator voted with Obama R 12% R 55% took in 2014 on the issues that Obama cared 55 percent of the time. That was the highest Ties last year's record low Second-highest support of a Democratic president about back up that point. The average Senate level of support from GOP senators since (to Clinton's 60% in 1997) Democrat voted with Obama on 95 percent Obama took office. CALL ROLL KELLY/CQ RYAN 26 CQ WEEKLY | MARCH 16, 2015 | www.cq.com Guide to The Vote Studies CQ Roll Call (previously Congressional Quarterly) has analyzed voting patterns of members of Congress since 1945. The three current studies — presidential support, party unity and voting participation — have been conducted in a consistent manner since 1953. This is how they are done: Selecting votes CQ Roll Call bases its vote studies on all floor votes for which senators and House members were asked to vote “yea” or “nay.” In 2014, there were 562 such roll call votes in the House and 366 in the Senate. The House total excludes the one quorum call in 2014 and one vote that was later vacated. The House total counts all votes on pro- cedural matters, including votes to ap- prove the journal (eight in 2014). In the DEADLOCKED: Boehner, center, moved many bills in the House that helped Republicans but were never Senate, there was one vote to instruct enacted. His predecessor as speaker, Nancy Pelosi, left, and Obama were left with little to show voters. the sergeant at arms to request senators to come to the floor. The presidential support and party unity LITTLE TO SHOW dent took a position in 2014. But, accord- studies are based on a set of votes se- Obama was surely happy to have his nom- ing to CQ’s statistics, Democrat Tim Kaine lected according to the criteria detailed inees in place, but that didn’t alter the reality of Virginia stuck just as close to Obama as on pages 31 and 41. that 2014 was one of the least productive Durbin did. And Kaine was a hair more loyal Individual scores Member scores are legislative years in modern times. to Obama than Democrats who might nor- based only on the votes each actually The consensus politics that existed in the mally seem fiercer partisans, such as Barbara cast. This makes individual support and United States when CQ began its vote studies Boxer of California or Charles E. Schumer opposition scores total 100 percent. The in 1953 is long over, as is the ideological over- of New York. same method is used to identify the lap between the parties. The final remnants In reality, every Democrat in the Senate leading scorers on pages 30 and 40. of it, the Southern Democrat and Northern was sharply partisan in 2014. The lowest Overall scores To be consistent with Republican, are, with each election cycle, scorer, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, previous years, calculations of average moving toward extinction. Without them, sided with Obama on 89 percent of votes. scores by chamber and party are based gridlock reigns, a function of polarization The differences between senators often came on all eligible votes, whether or not all and an American system of government that down to a vote on a single judge or executive members cast a “yea” or “nay.” The lack allows both parties to control levers of power branch appointment. of participation by lawmakers in a roll at the same time. It’s so hard to use the presidential support call vote reduces chamber and party The ideological sorting of the electorate by study to make meaningful distinctions be- average support and opposition scores. region, combined with political parties that tween Democratic senators in 2014 because As a result, chamber and party averages are now associated with clear positions on Reid allowed so few votes on policy issues are not strictly comparable with individ- the issues, has made it increasingly difficult or amendments. The policy votes were typi- ual member scores, which are calculated for mavericks to stand apart. cally on issues on which Democrats planned differently. (Methodology, 1987 Almanac, Consider the situation of Senate Demo- to run in 2014, such as ensuring equal pay p. 22-C) crats in 2014. Examining how often a senator for women or raising the minimum wage. Rounding Scores in the tables that follow supports the position of a president from the Without amendments to make distinctions for the House and Senate membership same party on the votes where the president on tricky issues, those were easy yes votes for are rounded to the nearest percentage has made his view known is usually a reli- Democrats. point. Rounding, however, does not raise able way to separate the moderates from the But Reid’s legislative strategy, in the end, any score to 100 percent, nor does it partisans. was a bust. The campaign turned not on reduce any score to zero. Scores for the But in 2014, that wasn’t so. A review of the issues that Democratic senators tried presidential and party support leaders the leading scorers for presidential support to frame with their few policy votes but on are reported to one decimal point in reveals some oddities.