Two Senators Willing to Defy the Party Line
Photo Credit: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES; GABRIELLA DEMCZUK / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Who are the two most disagreeable United States senators?
Not disagreeable in personality, but willing to buck their own party. That would be Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both Republicans.
The pair are the most reliable Democratic supporters on roll-call votes in the current Congress. In large part because of an increase in votes on presidential nominations after Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, limited the use of the filibuster last year, both senators are headed toward record levels of disagreement with their party.
Ms. Collins has sided with Democrats on cloture votes that allow a nomination to proceed for a vote on confirmation 82 times in this Congress.
Bucking a majority of their party on roll-call votes has become much less common among senators over the past quarter century. As recently as 2008, as many as 10 senators disagreed with a majority of their party colleagues on at least one in five votes. Now there are only these two who do. In the current political climate, where a primary challenge is a real threat (even if few succeed), increased voting against the party seems like potentially risky behavior.
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