Bipartisan org "No Labels" Announces 3 New Congressional National Leaders
Two House Representatives (Washington, Maine) and one Senator (Oklahoma). But what are their Bridge Scores? 2 As and 1 C.
Last night bipartisan advocacy group No Labels doubled down on its intention to drive a more collaborative Legislative Branch by naming three Congressional sponsors as National Leaders: Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Representative Jared Golden (D-ME), and Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA).
But, what are their Bridge Grades?
Bridge Grades are a report card for Congress that uses observable data to score Congress members on how collaboratively or divisively they govern.
Last term, as members of the 118th Congress, both Rep. Golden and Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez were in the top of their class as bridgers, earning A grades for their bipartisan legislative records and civil discourse. Sen. Mullin, however, earned a C grade as part of the bottom half of the class in the Senate, scored as a divider.
Representatives Golden (96.9) and Gluesenkamp Perez (93.3) both compiled stellar Bridge Scores during the 118th and established their strong cred as bridgers. Meanwhile, the data and our compiling systems scored Senator Mullin (21.0) in the bottom half of his peers as a divider on a system that measures legislative record and rhetoric including a bonus points for membership on the No Labels inspired Problem Solvers Caucus. Granted Sen. Mullin represents the 5th strongest leaning Republican state of Oklahoma (+17.3R). [Hey, we know it’s hard to bridge when your voters might want more partisanship. That’s why we apply a multiplier to reward bridging bravery.]
Keep in mind these current Bridge Grades are from last term in the 118th Congress. Each term Congress members earn a new grade, but it is still too early to do much grading just a few months into the 119th term. Give us a couple more months of data. Subscribe to be the first to see the mid-term grades this summer.
But, a C? What gives?
Do our systems to find signal in the noise need better calibration? Yes.
Could Senator Mullin do more to govern in an objectively more collaborative manner than his peers? Also, yes.
Did No Labels struggle to find other willing Republicans to take this mantle and he’s the best they could recruit? Doubtful, but who knows.
No matter. Let’s root them all on.
We truly wish all three Congressional leaders great success in their new roles as National Leaders with No Labels as they continue to bring Congressmembers together to build consensus solutions for our common interests. We salute all three of them for stepping up and championing a less divisive way forward.
What you can do
On June 26, No Labels is hosting “a public bicameral meeting of House and Senate members from both parties, in the U.S. Capitol, to kickstart a national discussion about how to move forward together as one nation.”
It’s easy to invite your Congressional representatives to join that session. It’s important they know we want much more bipartisan collaboration. You can join too. Sign up for the virtual session and listen in. See you there. Democracy is, after all, a participation sport.
It's interesting that your "Score Card" graphics for each Congressperson does *not* depict the party affiliation. I'm guessing this is by design. I see both pros and cons to this. Just curious about the rationale.
Great work. We need this.