The Lincoln Journal-Star's Don Walton has the scoop:
Although Sen. Ben Nelson continued to rank as the leading Democratic supporter of President Bush in the 2007 Congress, his votes for Democratic positions increased dramatically. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel's support for Bush's legislative positions declined considerably last year.
In 2006, Hagel was the leading supporter of the president's agenda in the Senate with a score of 95.5 percent. In 2007, his support dropped to 72.3 percent. His 27.7 percent opposition to the president's position on roll call votes ranked him sixth highest among Republican senators....
Nelson supported the president's position 49.5 percent of the time compared to 75.7 percent in 2006....Nelson's party unity score jumped from 36.2 percent to 69.8 percent. Still, his 30.2 percent opposition to his party's position ranked highest among Democrats in the Congress.
Among Nebraska's three Republican House members, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry compiled the most independent voting record with respect to both the president and his party. The 1st District congressman supported the president's position 65 percent of the time and voted with the majority of his Republican colleagues 81 percent of the time.
Rep. Adrian Smith, 3rd District, exhibited the most support for both president and party. Smith voted with the Republican majority 98 percent of the time. He compiled an 83 percent score in support of Bush's legislative positions.
Rep. Lee Terry, 2nd District, voted with the majority of his fellow Republicans on 93 percent of roll call votes in the survey. Terry supported the president 76 percent of the time.
The support Fortenberry and Terry provided for Bush's positions declined last year. In 2006, Terry supported the president 97 percent of the time. Fortenberry sided with Bush on 87 percent of the votes. Smith entered the House in 2007.
It's hard to know how much of Nelson's shift from 2006 to 2007 was rooted in election year politics. The issues of the day and the change in who's calling the shots in Congress are certainly factors as well. Either way, it's nice to see that Nelson's nonpartisan style of representation can be put to such better use when it's Democrats who are setting the agenda.
As for Hagel, it's about time that some of the hype over his supposed independent streak should finally be reflected in his voting record. Regardless of party affiliation, Hagel's 2006 record of 95.5% support for the least popular President in modern American history makes it downright impossible to separate Hagel from the Bush Administration's endless string of failures. At least Hagel showed a little bit more sense in 2007, when the Democratic Congress overcame 4 years of Republican obstructionism and finally gave Hagel a chance to vote his conscience and earn some credibility backing up his longstanding criticisms of the war in Iraq.
Still, considering the contempt in which Hagel is held by large segments of the Republican Party, it's kind of funny that five other Republican Senators (not to mention Jeff Fortenberry) broke with their party's failing President even more often. Though I don't have their names in front of me, I suspect most of those Senators - unlike Hagel - will actually be seeking re-election.
That just leaves those three empty suits Nebraska sends to the House of Representatives to fill seats on the Republican side of the aisle. With no one could that be more true than Adrian Smith - whose ridiculous and insulting 98% party loyalty makes it perfectly clear that he'd rather serve his Republican bosses in Washington D.C. than the people of Nebraska. I know the Third Congressional District is Republican territory, but a man with even a single independent thought in his head and just a hint of self-respect would have put Smith to shame in 2007. |
