Republican plays coy with the math on NPR

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell gave the Republican point-of-view this morning on NPR, offering guarded support for President-elect Obama’s stimulus plan.

But he fudged a bit when he stated his party’s case for influencing the debate.

“[I]t’s not just a matter of pride to us,” he said. “Senate Republicans represent half the population.”

Sen. McConnell made the same claim on ABC’s This Week last Sunday, repeating it twice for emphasis:

Look, I think everyone knows that half the American public is represented by a Republican senator, and all we’re suggesting here is that we be a part of the process.

An astute NCPR listener ran the numbers and found that it’s true that Republican Senators represent a little more than half of America’s population: 50.07%, to be precise.

But Democratic Senators represent far more Americans: 70.34%

Both numbers are accurate because there are two US Senators from each state. Each are counted as representing the entire state’s population.

Here are some other measures of the public’s political will in the Senate:

According to Wikipedia, Democrats also won 51% of the popular vote in Senate elections nationwide — compared to 45% for Republicans.

And voters have pushed Democrats (and the Independents who caucus with them) to within a whisker of a filibuster proof 60-seat majority in the Senate.

But after drubbings in 2006 and 2008, I’m guessing Republicans will continue using the “we represent half of the American public” message.

If I’m right, look for echoes from Hannity, Rush, etc.