Losers: Dem candidates who seek 2020 presidency have virtually NO legislative accomplishments

By Max Diamond

Many top Democratic presidential candidates share big ideas about how to transform the country, including free college and â€œMedicare for all,â€ but the prominent ones who serve (or have served) in Congress share something else in common: little or no legislation passed.

And itâ€™s not for lack ofÂ proposing.

Using data extending through the last completed congressional term, RealClearInvestigations found:

Sen. Cory Booker, in office since 2013,Â sponsoredÂ 118 bills and two became law.

Sen.Â Kirsten Gillibrand, in office since 2009,Â sponsoredÂ 302 bills and one became law.

Sen.Â Kamala Harris, in office since 2017,Â sponsoredÂ 45 bills and none became law.

Sen.Â Amy Klobuchar, in office since 2007,Â sponsoredÂ 365 bills and 14 became law.

Sen.Â Bernie Sanders, in office since 2007,Â sponsoredÂ 214 bills and two became law.

Sen.Â Elizabeth Warren, in office since 2013,Â sponsoredÂ 105 bills and none became law.

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, in officeÂ 2013-2019,Â sponsoredÂ 65 bills, and one â€“ naming a post office â€“ became law.

Newly announced candidateÂ and former Vice President Joe Biden, who served in the Senate from 1973 to 2009,Â sponsoredÂ 351 bills and 20 became law.

Those are success rates of less than 2% or worse,Â with the exceptions of Klobuchar’s 3.8% and Biden’s 5.7%. And even though the latter is the top legislative achiever in this group, few would be apt to call himÂ Joltin’ JoeÂ if he were playing baseball with a career batting average below .060.

Granted, tallying bills passed into law is an imperfect gauge of congressional effectiveness given the variables involved, not least the particulars of the specific legislation and the control and makeup of a lawmakerâ€™s chamber, especially considering recent Republican control of the Senate. Members of Congress also can be judged on other factors for effectiveness, such as investigating, oversight, fundraising power and even thwarting bills they oppose.

And though the passage numbers may sound low, some political scientists say few people care. â€œVoters are not much impressed by legislative records,â€ said William Schneider, professor of policy, government and international affairs at George Mason University.

Unless there is some dramatic breakthrough like Medicare for all, legislative achievement generally involves â€œall sorts of little bills; it often includes deal-making,â€ said Schneider. The kinds of compromises and small changes that usually characterize the legislative process may please narrow interests and constituencies but do not impress voters at large.

And maybe that’s a good thing for the current lawmakers under discussion, because while the average senator in the lastÂ Congress sponsored about seven bills that were passed, the average among the presidential candidates was about three. Senators serving in the last congressional term have on average passed 3.4% of the bills they’ve sponsored in their Senate careers; of those sponsored by the current senators seeking the Democratic nod for president, only 1.1% became law.

But the candidates may deserve a pass given the current partisan climate in which they participate. The era of outsized wheeling-and-dealing by back-scratching, arm-twisting politicians like Lyndon B. Johnson is gone, said David Brady, a political scientist at Stanford University. Now, â€œitâ€™s just too partisan,â€ he said.

And in a partisan era, being an “effective” legislator can actually hurt a lawmaker in a presidential race, especially with others in the crowded Democratic field unburdened by such records, including Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind.; former tech executive Andrew Yang; and â€œA Course in Miraclesâ€ popularizer Marianne Williamson. (The records of less prominent candidates from the House can be foundÂ here.)



