How does Etheridge Vote?

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 Bob Etheridge                                      Nancy Pelosi

Does Etheridge Represent Us?

With the Wall Street Journal reporting a 21% Congressional approval rating, it's clear that Americans are ready to replace members of Congress. A typical response I hear is "Etheridge is different, he represents us instead of special interests." The fact is that Etheridge supports the Democratic party leadership instead of his constituents. Etheridge follows Pelosi's instructions 97.4% of the time; that means he is 3 times less likely than the average Democrat in Congress to vote against party lines even when it's the right thing to do. He is serving his 7th term away from North Carolina; he has lost touch with his constituents and needs to be brought home. Clearly, he does not represent us.

Etheridge has missed 2% of the roll-call votes since we sent him to Washington, DC.  However, simply showing up is not enough. This is particularly true when he votes against the wishes of his constituents. We would have been better off had he missed a few more votes.

Is Etheridge an Effective Leader?

Since he took office in 1997, Etheridge has sponsored only 6 bills which actually became law. That's less than one successful bill per term. In addition to being ineffective, GovTrack rates Etheridge as a "follower" - he tends to cosponsor the bills of other members of Congress who will not cosponsor his in return.

Does Etheridge support Economic and Personal Liberty?

According to an RLC analysis of his career voting record, Etheridge is rated as an Authoritarian. Authoritarians advocate strong government restraints on both economic and social issues. They also favor government ownership of property, restricted markets, strong police forces and social conformity.