When Democrats Stand Together

Someone might want to check the "no" button on Assemblywoman Nellie Pou's desk in Trenton. It hasn't been used in nearly three years.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060205/NEWS/602050427

Pou, D-Passaic, has voted "yes" more than 1,000 consecutive times on bills up for final Assembly approval, according to a Gannett New Jersey review of legislative databases. The last time Pou, now the Assembly Appropriations Committee chairwoman, didn't vote in favor of a bill up for final approval was when she skipped a vote July 1, 2003. Pou hasn't voted against a bill since March 13, 2003, when she opposed a plan that would let the state keep traffic fine overpayments that were less than $5.

Pou said that as one of five deputy speakers in the Assembly last term, she was able to express concerns on bills before they reached the floor. "I am part of the many discussions that leadership should have and help to set the agenda for the session," Pou said.

While Pou may have the longest streak of voting approvals, other Democrats have similar records. An analysis of votes during the past two years paints a picture of a Democratic Party that controls lawmaking with lock-step discipline, even if it sometimes squabbles behind closed doors.

Voting patterns show growing divide between GOP, Dems

(Actually, it's the right that won't compromise)

Most bills that lawmakers approve have broad support across both parties, but recent voting patterns show a growing divide between Republicans and Democrats.

In the Assembly, for example, Republicans facing a Democratic agenda cast almost 4,800 "no" votes in the past two years. When Democrats were last in the minority, in 2000-2001, they were far more agreeable, casting less than half as many "no" votes, even though they had more seats than the Republicans do now.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060205/NEWS/602050430