96.4 Percent Of The Time, Lamar Smith Does Not Have A Mind Of His Own

Hill Monitor has released its latest round of ‘Presidential Support Rankings,’ to illustrate just how closely members of Congress vote with the POTUS.

Needless to say, it comes as no surprise that Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio) and Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) both ranked in the top ten. It seems they are fighting to see which one can climb higher and deeper up the President’s ass.

Smith, who ranked 7th, voted with the President 96.43 percent of the time, in 81 votes. Brady, agreed with the pres on 79 votes, or 96.34 percent of the time. The Doublemint Twins were just 11 tenths of a percent off from each other.

Sam Johnson (R-Dallas) and Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) came in 11th and 12th, ranking 96.1 percent and 96.05 percent over 74 and 73 votes respectively.

Michael Burgess (R-Highland Village) and John Culberson (R-Houston) came in next, barely missing being in the top 20 but still scoring high enough to remain on the President’s Christmas Card List: Burgess scored 95.29  and ranked tied at 23 with Culberson, Oklahoma’s Tom Cole, California’s Gary Miller, New Mexico’s Steven Pearce and, oh yes, Texas’ Kenny Ewell Marchant (R-Coppell).

[Does anyone else find it funny that Marchant has the same last name as the somewhat-less-than-desirable family living near the dump in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird?]
John Carter also managed to agree with the president 95.18 percent of the time, tying with another Rep from another state. Tom DeLay ranked in at 35—albeit his early departure from the house only allowed him to be ranked on less votes cast)—with 94.34 percent.

I hope Mary Beth Harrell’s campaign will make it a point of noting that John Carter agreed with the President more times than Tom DeLay.

After DeLay, Randy Neugebauer (R-Lubbock), and Henry Bonillia (R-San Antonio) tied with a whole passal of other Congressmen to place 36th with voting records that pleased the President and agreed with him 91.19 percent of the time.

Mike Conway (R-Midland), Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) and Michael McCaul (R-Austin) all tied with others at 73rd place. Still, though 73rd means they agreed with the president 92.94 percent of the time.

Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) (who? Texas forgotten congressman) ranked tied with someone from Florida for 98th with 91.86.

Ralph Hall (R-Rockwall) among the last of the Texans cracking the 90s (and still scoring above Florida’s Katherine Harris), came in at 122nd, with a 90.59.

Louie Gohmert, (R-Tyler), The Freshman, got a flat 90 percent and tied for 134th with a Pennsylvania Congressman.

Joe Barton (R-Ennis), who has to vote with the lobbyists who give him money more than he votes with the president or anyone else (except net neutrality opponents and polluters) came in tied with Ted Poe (R-Beaumont) for 149th at 89.16 percent. Still, they scored higher than Georgia wingnut Lynn Westmorland. That says something about our nutty Republicans.
Jeb Hensarling (R-Dallas) came in at 173. HenSnarling scored an 86.05. The reason Hensarling scored so low is because the majority of the time he was disagreeing with the president (12 against 74 with) was on appropriations votes or when he took a more “wingnut” stand than the majority of his party (like with his vote against the VRA), although he did notably vote against the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005.
Next, only somewhat surprisingly, was Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) at 218th, with a 75.9 percent agreement with the president (voting against the President’s wishes on 20 and with the president on 63 measures). Only one Democrat (Oklahoma’s Dan Boren) scored a higher presidential agreement rating than Cuellar.

Chet Edwards (D-Waco) came in with a 67.44 percent agreement for a ranking of 236. Note, however, that he disagreed with Bush more times (on 28 occasions)than Henry Cuellar.

That does make one question Cuellar’s voting record, given that Edwards’ district is far more conservative than Cuellar’s.

Next, at 247 was Solomon P. Ortiz, Sr. (D-Corpus Christi). He agreed with the president 61.25 percent of the time, slightly more than CT Republican Christopher Shays, who came in at 250th.

Ruben Hinojosa (D-Mercedes) came in in a tie for 255th, supporting the President only 58.23 percent of the time.

Gene Green (D-Houston) came in at 269th, with a 53.09 percent agreement rating, behind South Dakota’s Stephanie Herseth at 265.

Silvestre Reyes (D-El Paso) came in at 272nd, voting with Bush only 51.9 percent of the time.

No other Texas Democrats voted with Bush more than 50 percent of the time. Charlie A. Gonzalez (D-San Antonio) came in at 297th, voting with Bush only 44.71 percent of the time.

Al Green (D-Houston) came tied for 324th with 40.7 percent of his votes in agreement with Bush. Needless to say, in spite of that lovely NAACP convention face grab, Green’s probably off the White House Christmas Card List.

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston), came in at 331 with a 39.76.

Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) came in at 348 with a 37.25.

Strangely enough, she tied with Ron Paul (R-Surfside). However, of the 52 times both voted against President Bush’s wishes, Paul’s votes reflect his own bizarre, libertarian, wingnut sensabilites, not mainstream values that could be anywhere near ‘at home’ in his district.

Lloyd Doggett came in down at 393rd (the last White House Christmas Card List he was probably on was Clinton’s). He agreed with the president a mere 30.95 percent of the time.

It’s quite interesting that Texans appear in so many places on the list, from the inside the top ten “up the president’s behind list” to Doggett who agrees with Bush less than 70 percent of the time.

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