The Sun-Times notes that lame-duck 11th District representative Jerry Weller, subject of two Reader investigations in recent years, bailed on the $700 billion bailout vote–and 284 other votes this session. Outrageous!
Or is it? How many votes does the average congressperson miss?
The Washington Post keeps track. Turns out 283 (what the Post has him down as missing total, or 15.1 percent) isn’t stellar but doesn’t put Weller anywhere near the top of the shit list in the House. Top honors go to Barbara Cubin, a Wyoming Republican who’s missed 915 votes, or 49 percent. (Though she too is stepping down in January, she did make it in to vote for the bailout.)
Also missed more votes than Weller: Bobby Rush (598, or 32 percent).
Missed nearly as many as Weller: Luis Gutierrez (272, or 14.6 percent).
Missed no votes at all: Jesse Jackson Jr.
In the Senate, unsurprisingly, the top vote missers who weren’t absent on account of a brain hemorrhage are McCain (404, or 64.1 percent) and Obama (303, or 46.3 percent), followed by Clinton and Biden.