The National Journal has come up with a terrific chart that explains the hyper-partisan gridlock machine that is the U.S. Senate. (The House is not significantly different). This simple graphic also serves as a devastatingly effective PR tool for moderate groups such as No Labels, Americans Elect and Third Way.
If you want to know why nothing gets done in Washington, here is your answer:
Based on 30 years of congressional voting data, the fascinating finding by NJ is that any remaining ideological overlap between Democrats and Republicans has totally disappeared in the Senate.
Each red notch on the blue line represents a moderate GOP senator whose voting record put them in a similar position on the ideological spectrum with Democrats – and vice versa. The most liberal Republican and most conservative Democrat overall is clearly marked above the red/blue line.
The 2011 ideology line created by NJ shows that the most conservative Democrat is within the blue collar bar, meaning that he is more liberal than the most liberal Republican. Similarly, the most liberal Republican is still on the red bar, meaning that she is more conservative than the most conservative Democrat.
(I might point out that the same polarization is also evident in Lansing in the Michigan House and Senate.)
This remarkable set of tracking data shows that, in the space of just three decades, moderates and liberals have been booted out of the GOP, while conservative and moderate Democrats who often side with Republicans have also vanished.
At The Atlantic, they point out that some of the changes have occurred on the edges, with some senators switching sides (on the 1994 chart, the most conservative Democrat, Sen. Richard Shelby, switched parties the next year, while Sen. James Jeffords, the most liberal Republican, switched parties in 2001.)
But we all know that the political center has become a minefield, with moderates threatened to be “primaried” in their next election. Many centrists – Evan Bayh, Jim Webb, Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Olympia Snowe – have simply thrown up their hands and quit.
The most conservative Democrat (48th overall) in the 2011 chart, Nelson, of Nebraska, announced months ago that he will not run for re-election. The good news for moderates is that former governor and senator Bob Kerrey has decided to pursue Nelson’s seat.
The most liberal Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine (47th overall) , is not up for re-election until 2014. But, of course, Snowe, the senior senator from Maine and the 46th most liberal overall, announced her departure last week and blasted the polarization and gridlock on Capitol Hill.
