Yeah, I think the difference is in the past you didn’t have has many straight party line votes. Not until Reid and McConnell took over the leadership of the senate. Prior to their take over of the leadership, straight party line votes were rare. You always had 5 or more of the other party voting for legislation across the aisle.
We do have to be careful of what definition we use for a straight party line vote. One definition is when a majority of one-party votes against the majority of the other party. This one I’m not using. Bipartisan vote going by this is when a majority of both parties vote for the same bill or legislation. I not using this one for bipartisanship either.
For me a party line vote is one party all voting one way, the other party voting the other. You can have 1 or 2 senators joining in voting with the other party or 5 or 6 house members, but I still classify that as a party line vote, not bipartisan. We’ve had many of this type of voting over the last 20 years which prior to that was very rare. For something to be considered bipartisan, it doesn’t have to be a majority of both party’s which is the traditional definition. I’d say in a 50-50 senate, a 60-40 edge is enough for me to consider it being bipartisan along with 30 or more house members crossing the aisle to vote with the other party in a 222-213 house. Gaining a couple of senators of the opposing party or less than 20 house members of the opposite party isn’t bipartisan.
Prior to Reid and McConnell, it seems to me the leadership of both parties were more willing and much less heavy handed in allowing their members to vote their conscious or the way they wanted to. Especially if those members came from a swing district that could be lost if they voted the way the leadership wanted them to. Nostalgia? Maybe. I can’t remember censoring folks or trying to kick members of your party out of it if they didn’t vote the way the leadership wanted. Sinema and Manchin comes to mind as do Cheney and Romney along with other GOP house members who voted to impeach Trump and joined the 1-6 committee. The past has never been wine and roses, you’re correct there. But I don’t think the amount of intransigents and hatred was there.
