NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WMOT) -- You can find a website that rates everything from plumbers to hotel rooms online. Now a Vanderbilt political scientist has created a website that rates politicians.
Alan Wiseman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, says voter dissatisfaction and political gridlock in Washington inspired him to develop a system that rates the legislative success of members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Along with a colleague, Wiseman developed a system that tracks how many bills a legislator manages to get voted into law.
He says veterans tend to do better than first term legislators. He also says congressman who keep a narrow focus on just a few bills, measures of interest to their constituents, for example, also do better.
Wiseman says the ability to compromise is another key to legislative success.
“They’ve been very proactive in reaching out to people across the aisle, both in terms of reaching out to people in other parties as well as members of their own party with whom they might not be most naturally ideologically aligned, and this has been a recipe for success to them.”
Wiseman and his college update the ratings at the end of each two year session of congress.
You can review your own legislators using the new website. Wiseman has also co-authored a book on the same topic: Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress: The Lawmakers.