The Hill has conducted a survey of the 99 current members of the United States Senate in an effort to discover the most (and least) "bipartisan" members of the body.
It's a very interesting survey, and features quotes from each Senator about the members from the other party with whom they find it easiest to work. (Obviously, negative quotes were anonymous; no one wants to go on record saying "Jim Bunning is a jerk" even if that's what they think).
Some interesting findings from the survey (Democratic responses are here, Republican answers here):
Liberal lion Ted Kennedy was named as the most bipartisan Senator, by far. He was named not only by relatively moderate Senators such as Arlen Specter, but by some of the Senate's most conservative members (Sam Brownback, Richard Burr, Mike Enzi, Jeff Sessions). Kennedy is generally considered one of the greatest legislators in the history of the Senate, and it appears a great number of his Republican colleagues would agree.
Conversely, Kennedy's close friend Orrin Hatch was named surprisingly often by his Democratic colleagues - not as much as celebrated "moderates" Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, but as much as anyone else. He was mentioned by eight Senators, the same number as Maverick John McCain.
Friendships. A lot of Senators named frequent working partners, but some named close friends of theirs from across the aisle. Indeed, there are a number of seemingly unlikely friendships referenced in this piece. The relationship between Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy is well-known and long-standing, but it may surprise some folks to know that Roger Wicker and Ben Cardin were old friends from their days in the House.
George Voinovich and Tom Carper - two relative centrists and former Governors - also seem to be close personally as well as professionally.
Perhaps the most surprising one of all, however, is that Sam Brownback and Paul Wellstone were close:
"One of the funniest guys I’ve worked with was Paul Wellstone. He was just passionate. We’d call each other names for a little while and then we’d go on and work with each other. He was a lot of fun to work with... He came on to the floor one day and was yelling at me for saying in an interview that I believe that every human is beautiful and dignified and unique and sacred, and that includes Paul Wellstone and Ted Kennedy. He was saying ‘What are you naming me for?’ But what he was really yelling at me for was that some rankings had just come out on who was the most liberal and who was the most conservative member of the Senate, and he came on to the floor and said, ‘You did this to me!’ And I said ‘What?’ and he said ‘I was the most liberal one here, and because I’ve been working with you I’m now the second-most liberal member.’ He wanted to be first. So I told him, ‘Hang around with me, and I’ll get you reelected.’ "
Senators from states whose other Senator hails from the opposite party often named their state partners - Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich, for instance, or Kay Hagan and Richard Burr.
Party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell named each other (Reid works with his opponent "because I have to"). No one else named them.
Oddly enough, however, no one named them to the "least bipartisan" lists (while their lieutenants, like Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer and Jon Kyl, all made those lists).
The real nutters in the GOP are pretty self-evident:
Democrats singled out Bunning, David Vitter (La.), Tom Coburn (Okla.) and DeMint as the most difficult. One Democratic senator called them "a bunch of 4-year-olds."
Several Democrats said Bunning in particular is so irascible that they don’t even try to speak to the Hall of Fame pitcher unless it’s about baseball.
"Jim just makes it difficult," said one Democrat. "Sometimes you have a sense of where your bipartisan outreach maybe won’t be successful, so you tend to not even engage."
Surprisingly, the one person to name Bunning was one of the Senate's most liberal members, Bernie Sanders.
No one named Vitter, Coburn or DeMint. Four-year-olds apparently don't do well in the Senate.
Bunning refused to answer the survey, with the one-word answer "No". Way to keep the press on your side, Jim.
Curiously, Herb Kohl also did not answer, but at least gave a second word - "No comment".
Daniel Inouye missed former Sen. Ted Stevens, with whom he served in the Senate for the duration of Stevens' record-setting career. He even said he wishes Stevens were still in the Senate.
Jim Inhofe rather likes Roland Burris, and Burris himself thinks Orrin Hatch is a snappy dresser.
Chris Dodd was named as one of the Senate's most partisan Democrats...and also one of the most bipartisan Democrats.
Oddly enough, many of the Senate's most conservative Republicans named people like Dodd or Kennedy, while Olympia Snowe (celebrated moderate) didn't name anyone, and Susan Collins named Joe Lieberman.
Here are the lists of the five most (and least) bipartisan Democrats and Republicans as viewed by colleagues across the aisle. Dodd is the only one on both lists, though Lamar Alexander is probably pretty close:
Democrats
Most Bipartisan
Ted Kennedy
Tom Carper
Chris Dodd
Evan Bayh
Tom Harkin
Least Bipartisan
Patrick Leahy
Chuck Schumer
Chris Dodd
Dick Durbin
John Kerry
Republicans
Most Bipartisan
Susan Collins
Olympia Snowe
Orrin Hatch
Richard Lugar
John McCain
Least Bipartisan
Jim Bunning
David Vitter
Tom Coburn
Jim DeMint
Lamar Alexander
Below the fold, a list of every Senator mentioned, how many times (s)he was mentioned, and by whom.
Republicans
15 Susan Collins (Conrad, Durbin, Feingold, Hagan, Johnson, Landrieu, Lieberman, McCaskill, Mikulski, Murray, Nelson, Reed, Rockefeller, T. Udall, Warner)
13 Olympia Snowe (Boxer, Brown, Cardin, Conrad, Feinstein, Johnson, Kerry, Landrieu, Mikulski, Nelson, Reed, Stabenow, T. Udall)
8 Orrin Hatch (Burris, Cantwell, Dodd, Harkin, Inouye, Lincoln, Menendez, Rockefeller)
8 John McCain (Bayh, Bennet, Dorgan, Feingold, Lieberman, Stabenow, M.Udall, T. Udall)
7 Chuck Grassley (Casey, Harkin, Lincoln, Merkley, Nelson, Sanders, Wyden)
7 Lindsey Graham (Feingold, Kerry, Menendez, Schumer, Stabenow, M.Udall, Whitehouse)
7 Richard Lugar (Bayh, Casey, Kaufman, Kerry, Lautenberg, Leahy, Merkley)
6 George Voinovich (Akaka, Bayh, Brown, Carper, Nelson, Stabenow)
6 Bob Corker (Dodd, Kerry, McCaskill, Reed, M. Udall, Warner)
6 Lisa Murkowski (Begich, Dorgan, Landrieu, Mikulski, Nelson, Stabenow)
6 Arlen Specter (Cardin, Dodd, Durbin, Harkin, Leahy, Stabenow)
5 Mel Martinez (Casey, Menendez, Nelson, Nelson, Reed)
5 Lamar Alexander (Bayh, Bingaman, Cardin, Merkley, Pryor)
4 Kay Bailey Hutchison (Brown, Burris, Mikulski, Rockefeller)
4 Johnny Isakson (Kaufman, Landrieu, Murray, Rockefeller)
4 Mike Enzi (Dorgan, Nelson, Rockefeller, Tester)
4 Kit Bond (Begich, Dodd, Mikulski, Reed)
3 Richard Burr (Akaka, Burris, Hagan)
3 Bob Bennett (Dodd, Nelson, Rockefeller)
3 John Ensign (Boxer, Cantwell, Feinstein)
3 Jeff Sessions (Feinstein, Enzi, Reed)
3 Saxby Chambliss (Conrad, Landrieu, Lincoln)
2 Sam Brownback (Brown, M. Udall)
2 John Thune (Johnson, T. Udall)
2 John Barrasso (Kaufman, Tester)
2 Mike Crapo (Reed, Tester)
2 Richard Shelby (Dodd, Mikulski)
1 Jim Inhofe (Akaka)
1 Roger Wicker (Cardin)
1 Judd Gregg (Conrad)
1 Jon Kyl (Feinstein)
1 John Cornyn (Feinstein)
1 Thad Cochran (Inouye)
1 Pat Roberts (Lincoln)
1 Mitch McConnell (Reid)
1 Jim Bunning (Sanders)
Democrats
9 Ted Kennedy (Bond, Brownback, Burr, Enzi, Hatch, Isakson, Kyl, Sessions, Specter)
7 Tom Carper (Coburn, Ensign, Isakson, Johanns, Risch, Sessions, Voinovich)
7 Chris Dodd (Bennett, Bond, Corker, Crapo, Hatch, Lugar, Shelby)
5 Tom Harkin (Brownback, Cochran, Johanns, Lugar, Specter)
5 Evan Bayh (Burr, Coburn, Graham, Gregg, Sessions)
5 Pat Leahy (Cochran, Cornyn, Grassley, Gregg, Specter)
4 Barbara Mikulski (Bond, Enzi, Hutchison, Shelby)
4 Joe Lieberman (Alexander, Collins, Gregg, Thune)
4 Mark Pryor (Barrasso, Chambliss, Risch, Thune)
3 Ron Wyden (Bennett, Risch, Thune)
3 Max Baucus (Crapo, Grassley, Hatch)
3 Dianne Feinstein (Graham, Hutchison, Martinez)
3 Kent Conrad (Chambliss, Gregg, Isakson)
3 Ben Nelson (Chambliss, Sessions, Thune)
3 Russ Feingold (Coburn*, Graham, McCain)
3 Daniel Inouye (Bennett, Cochran, Roberts)
2 Maria Cantwell (Ensign, Hatch)
2 Byron Dorgan (Bennett, McCain)
2 Jeff Bingaman (Alexander, Murkowski)
2 Blanche Lincoln (Chambliss, Crapo)
2 Claire McCaskill (Corker, DeMint)
2 Chuck Schumer (Ensign, Gregg)
1 Barbara Boxer (Ensign)
1 Bernie Sanders (Grassley)
1 Jay Rockefeller (Hatch)
1 Roland Burris (Coburn)
1 Jim Webb (Corker)
1 John Kerry (Lugar)
1 Bob Casey (Lugar)
1 Bob Menendez (Martinez)
1 Patty Murray (Bond)
1 Carl Levin (McCain)
1 Harry Reid (McConnell)
1 Bill Nelson (Vitter)
1 Daniel Akaka (Voinovich)
1 Carl Levin (Wicker)
1 Mary Landrieu (Wicker)
1 Ben Cardin (Wicker)