John Boehner: A Pelosi Ally?
Republicans have cast House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Enemy No. 1 this election season, and they point out in a number of campaign ads how closely Democrats running for re-election have aligned with the speaker's voting record. Those ads fail to mention, however, just how commonplace such figures are -- even House GOP leader John Boehner votes with Pelosi the majority of the time, it turns out.
Boehner sided with Pelosi and Democrats 52 percent of the time, according to a review of this year's votes that Democrats provided to The Hill. Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), chairman of the House Republican conference, also voted with Pelosi 52 percent of the time, while House GOP leaders Eric Cantor (Va.) and Pete Sessions (Texas) voted with her 57 percent of the time. Even Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann voted with the speaker on 58 percent of votes.
The reality is that most of the 565 votes the House took this year were on mundane items -- such as naming a post office. Republicans -- and moderate Democrats -- still often split with Democratic leadership on high-profile issues.
However, that hasn't stopped Republicans from using a Democratic candidate's voting record as ammunition -- a typical strategy both parties often use. The Hotsheet's Hot Ads of the Week series, for instance, highlighted an ad against Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas which points out that the incumbent voted with Pelosi 96 percent of the time.
Some Democrats, however, have turned the strategy on its head, The Hill points out. After being lambasted for voting with Pelosi, some Democrats are pointing out how closely their votes also align with Republican leaders. Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright of Alabama, for intance, was attacked for voting "with Pelosi 70 percent of the time" since 2009. Now Bright is reportedly running an ad that says he voted "80 percent with the Republican leader."
CBSNews.com Special Report: Campaign 2010
