… might appreciate this tidbit, noted at the end of WRAL’s coverage of the vote counts during the 2013 legislative session. At the end of the piece, in a discussion of Democratic senators’ voting patterns, we learn:
Loyal opposition: Sen. Gladys Robinson, D-Guilford, cast the most votes against the will of the GOP majority. She voted with the winning side on recorded votes only 76.2 percent of the time.
Crossing party lines: Sen. Michael Walters, D-Robeson, crossed party lines more than any other senator. The Democrat voted with the Republican majority 86.7 percent of the time. By contrast, Democratic leader Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, voted with Republicans only 77.5 percent of the time.
Of course, “only” is relative. And the vote counts include votes on special resolutions and a number of noncontroversial bills. Still, it’s interesting to note that every member of the Senate voted with the Senate majority more than three-quarters of the time. That includes Democratic senators who were quick to condemn the Republican leaders for their efforts to end North Carolina’s march toward Democratic goals. (In contrast, the report suggests at least a couple of members of the N.C. House voted against the majority three-quarters of the time.)
