Weak End of Bernie's

"Those Democrats are a bunch of socialists!" This declaration, widely considered a sure mark of a right-wing lunatic, may actually be an understatement. In 1992, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute's annual tabulation of congressional votes on economic matters, 160 (out of 268) Democratic representatives supported free-market policies less often than Bemie Sanders (I-Vt.), the only self-declared socialist in the House. CEI looked at 117 House votes and 96 Senate votes on measures involving subsidies and pork-barrel projects, spending control, deregulation, taxes, environmental policy, and international trade. House Democrats had an average score of 20, compared to 71 for Republicans; in the Senate, Democrats averaged 23, and Republicans averaged 69.