Dems claim even Boenher votes with Pelosi

Above: Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) hands the gavel to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi as she becomes the first woman Speaker of the House in 2006.

House Democrats in U.S. Congress are aiming a counterattack at Republicans going after Democratic incumbents for their voting records.

According to an article this week in The Hill, a daily newspaper that reports on the goings on in the U.S. Capitol, House Democratic leaders compiled an analysis of 565 roll call votes, finding House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner (Ohio) voted with the Democratic leadership 52 percent of the time in 2010. The analysis also found other conservative Republicans, including Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, House Republican whip Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), and Republican House campaign committee head Rep. Pete Sessions (Tex.), have cast a majority of their votes with Democrats.

Here in Connecticut, with Republican U.S. house candidate Dan Debicella labeling Democratic incumbent Jim Himes (D-Greenwich) a “rubber stamp” for the “failed policies of the last two years” in television ads, the Himes campaign was quick to pick up on the issue. Today a Himes campaign aide sent the Hill article, titled, “Boehner a rubber stamp for Pelosi?” in an email blast to the media.

It appears the Hill did not attempt to independently verify the analysis, but contacted a National Republican Campaign Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay, who called the assessment “nonsense.”

Here’s what Lindsay said, according to the report:

“It’s necessary to question any numbers coming from the same party that predicted their trillion dollar stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8 percent,” committee spokesman Paul Lindsay said. “The fact that House Democrat staffers spent their time compiling this nonsense is further proof of why their party has failed to address the economic crisis facing American families, and why voters are determined to send them packing in November.”

Magdalene Perez