Congress Divided: 2011 Vote Ratings

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: 

  • Mapping the Vote Ratings—House

  • Mapping the Vote Ratings—Senate

  • Searching the Vote Ratings—House

  • Searching the Vote Ratings—Senate