CQ ranks congressional voting records: How’d Minnesota do?

Capitol Hill (WDCpix)

Congressional Quarterly has compiled their annual Vote Study for congressional votes leading up to the July 4 break. Each year, CQ compiles records based on party unity, support for the president and percentage of votes missed during the session. Here’s how the Minnesota delegation stacked up.

Reps. Betty McCollum, Jim Oberstar and Tim Walz were the “rubber stamps” for President Obama, supporting his initiatives 92 percent of the time. Rep. Keith Ellison followed, voting with the president 91 percent of the time.

Rep. Michele Bachmann was the ultimate “obstructionist,” only voting with Obama 10 percent of the time, beating out every member of the House except Republican Reps. J. Gresham Barrett of South Carolina at 10 percent and Jeff Flake of Arizona with only 5 percent. Rep. John Kline was on the low end, too, supporting President Obama only 20 percent of the time.

Rep. Erik Paulsen was exactly “moderate,” voting with the president on 50 percent of votes. Rep. Collin Peterson sided with the president 81 percent of the time.

Every member of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation had over a 90-percent party unity score except for Peterson, who came in at 88 percent.

Most of the delegation had a good record of showing up to vote on roll call votes, but Reps. Ellison and Bachmann dipped below the 90 percent mark. Both missed votes during the record-setting week of June 18 when more than a quarter of all votes this session were taken.

Ellison was attending his son’s graduation at CityView, an Americorps volunteer program, and missed votes that day, although he did try to make it back to vote.

Rick Jauert, Ellison’s spokesman, said, “His second son was graduating from CityYear that day in Miami and he thought he could get there and back without missing many votes. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have… He did not anticipate the Republicans playing politics with the schedule as they did for several days… calling for motions to rise, adjourn, reconsider, offering endless extraneous amendments.”

Bachmann was absent during two days when a record numbers of House votes were taken because she was spending time with her family following the death of her husband’s mother.

On the Senate side, Minnesota’s Sen. Amy Klobuchar voted with the president 97 percent of the time and with her party 88 percent of the time, and she made it to 98 percent of roll call votes taken.