Congress Divided: 2011 Vote Ratings

By National Journal Staff

Updated: March 8, 2012 | 5:33 p.m.
February 23, 2012 | 2:57 p.m.

Clockwise, from the top left: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Rep. Michael Capuana, D-Mass., and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. Clockwise from the top right: Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. Center photograph: The U.S. Capitol dome. (AP Photos)

As John Aloysius Farrell writes in this week's National Journal, the 2011 edition of the Vote Ratings offer little opitimism that the polarization between parties will thaw anytime soon.

"For the second year in a row but only the third time in the 30 years that National Journal has published these ratings, no Senate Democrat compiled a voting record to the right of any Senate Republican, and no Republican came down on the left of any Senate Democrat. (The first time this happened was 1999.)," writes Farrell.

To help you visualize just how polarized the 112th Congress was in 2011, we've created nearly a dozen resources, including interactive graphics, slideshows, and an archive that stretches back two decades. See for yourself:

Archives: Vote Ratings from 1993 to 2010

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