Peters Hasn't Done Any Independent Thinking- Congressman Gary Peters Votes 96% of Time with Liberal Democrats

Gary Peters is one of the least independent Congressman in Congress, and votes with his party 96% of the time. He does not work with Republicans, he isn't a voice of moderation, and he is not independent. According to his voting record, he is a liberal Democrat who votes the party line almost every time- a reliable vote for the Pelosi/Waxman wing of the Democratic Party.

Recently, The Oakland Press, the local newspaper in the area, wrote the following editorial called "Peters has done some independent thinking", and this prompted me to do some research:

Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, is not in a very enviable position as a Congressmen. He’s a Democrat from a district that has historically voted Republican. The exact Democrat-Republican split is not known, but it is safe to say that he was elected because of strong support from independent voters. As his first Congressional year ends, we are not going to judge or rate him on his work.

However, The Oakland Press believes you should give credit where credit is due.At times during his very critical and harsh first year in office, Peters has shown that he can break away from the “party-line” and thus think and act independently. Let’s give him credit and kudos for some independent thinking.

This is garbage. According to OpenCongress.org, a non-partisan website set up to track the votes and news about US Congressman, Gary Peters has voted the Democratic Party line 96% of the time, including important votes in favor of the Democratic party line on healthcare, cap-and-tax, stimulus, government-takeovers, and national security. That means that 96 times out of a 100, he has voted Democrat, and only voted with the Republicans 4 times.

The facts- a 96% party line votes- demonstrate that this editorial is pure garbage and that Peters is not an independent voice in Congress or someone who breaks the party line, and I question who wrote it or approved it without doing a little research first.

An 'independent thinker' who 'breaks the party line' votes with the party line 96% of the time? I wonder if The Oakland Press is going to start writing glowing editorials of how independent of a voter Thaddeus McCotter (R, MI-11, 92% party line) is? Or Candice Miller (R, MI-10, 87% party line)? Or Vern Ehlers (R, MI-3, 85% party line)? The only Congressman from Michigan who are less independent and who vote less with the party line are fellow Democrats Sandar Levin (99% party line) and John Dingell (98% party line).

Congressman Peters has sponsored 8 pieces of legislation while in office. They are not 'independent' pieces of legislation that demonstrate his willingness 'to break from the party'. One is to increase taxes (HR 1527). The rest are minor bills requesting tax breaks for favored constituencies or resolutions recognizing various things. Is this what The Oakland Press was raving about? Crossing the aisle to express a sense of Congress for a civil rights activist? Wow.

The Oakland Press ignored his 96% party line vote and his vote on major issues, which is a reliable liberal Democratic vote in favor of bills that even harm his district, and wrote a garbage of an editorial.

Congressman Gary Peters is a solid left-wing liberal, and come 2010, you remember that and vote accordingly.