That’s what Paul Mirengoff at Power Line thinks. He points to reports that several Democrats, seeking to increase the number of votes in which they disagree with their party, vote “nay” on approving the minutes of the previous day’s proceedings, called Journal votes. North Carolina’s 11th District Democrat, Heath Shuler, votes against the minutes 61 percent of the time.
The freshmen congressmen are seeking ammunition for when they travel back to their purple districts (part Red, part Blue) and try their political balancing act. Says Mirengoff:
It’s understandable, of course, that Democratic freshmen from swing districts want to distance themselves from the Democratic majority. After all, Congress’ approval rating is approximately 25 percent. But it’s difficult to believe, in this political age, that “nay” Journal votes will convince constituents that these clowns are independent voters, not reliably liberal members.
The other leading practitioners of the ploy are Jason Altmire (Pa.) = 94.4%; Joe Donnelly (Ind.) = 83.3%; Chris Carney (Pa.) = 66.7%; Brad Ellsworth (Ind.) = 66.7%; and Harry Mitchell (Ariz.) = 61.1%.
