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.<\/p>\n
But he fudged a bit when he stated his party’s case for influencing the debate.<\/p>\n
“[I]t’s not just a matter of pride to us,” he said. “Senate Republicans represent half the population.”<\/p>\n
Sen. McConnell made the same claim on ABC’s This Week last Sunday, repeating it twice for emphasis:<\/p>\n
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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But Democratic Senators represent far more Americans: 70.34%<\/p>\n
Both numbers are accurate because there are two US Senators from each state. Each are counted as representing the entire state’s population.<\/p>\n
Here are some other measures of the public’s political will in the Senate:<\/p>\n
According to Wikipedia, Democrats also won 51% of the popular vote in Senate elections nationwide — compared to 45% for Republicans. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
But after drubbings in 2006 and 2008, I’m guessing Republicans will continue using the “we represent half of the American public” message.<\/p>\n
If I’m right, look for echoes from Hannity, Rush, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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