Senate Dems Voting Much More in Step Than GOP

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/07/senate_dems_voting_much_more_i.html

Senate Dems Voting Much More in Step Than GOP
By Greg Giroux | 8:45 PM; Jul. 11, 2007

Senate Democrats were more unified than their Republican counterparts during the first half-year of the current 110th Congress, sticking together with greater frequency on votes that are closely divided along party lines — a key finding of CQPolitics.com’s latest analysis of lawmakers’ “party unity” scores.

But the Democrats’ success at holding their ranks together does not necessarily equate to victories in getting legislation moved through the Senate, because of the party’s extremely narrow 51-49 operational majority is well short of the 60 votes needed to end Republican filibusters and the two-thirds supermajorities needed to override vetoes by the Republican in the White House, George W. Bush.

This is not the case in the House, where — as reported by CQPolitics.com in articles earlier this week — Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and other Democratic leaders also have not suffered many defections on key votes. With simple majorities required for passage of most House legislation, the Democratic majority has been able to push through a significant portion of its legislative agenda, though with no guarantees that the measures will succeed in the Senate.

Sponsored by freshman Virginia Democrat Jim Webb, the amendment was backed by 48 Democrats, one liberal independent who organizes with the Democrats and even seven Republicans. Yet the 56-41 tally to invoke cloture, or cut off debate, fell four votes short of the requisite 60-vote threshold needed to advance Webb’s amendment.

Yet while Senate Republicans have proven successful in blocking Democratic priorities, CQ’s party unity analysis does show that some of them are breaking frequently from party leaders and from President Bush — on issues including, but not limited to, U.S. military policy in Iraq.

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