Who's Been in Charge?

Yesterday, as in the post below, Shep was talking to Mary Ann Marsh and she said (paraphrased because I hadn’t set the TiVo and I was listening to the show on my phone on my walk to pick up the Little Guy at school)

For 20 of the last 26 years Republicans were in charge of the whole thing.

She said this in relation to John McCain having been in the senate and doing nothing to regulate banks, etc, so as to keep them from going belly up…

I made myself a note to check that claim out.

The last 26 years would seem to be starting with the 98th Congress (1983-1985; 1982 elections)

Congress House Majority Senate Majority White House Admin “In Charge”
98th Democrat Republican Republican Reagan Republican
99th Democrat Republican Republican Reagan Republican
100th Democrat Democrat Republican Reagan Democrat
101st Democrat Democrat Republican Bush 41 Democrat
102nd Democrat Democrat Republican Bush 41 Democrat
103rd Democrat Democrat Democrat Clinton Democrat
104th Republican Republican Democrat Clinton Republican
105th Republican Republican Democrat Clinton Republican
106th Republican Republican Democrat Clinton Republican
107th Republican Tie** Republican Bush 43 Republican
108th Republican Republican Republican Bush 43 Republican
109th Republican Republican Republican Bush 43 Republican
110th Democrat Democrat Republican Bush 43 Democrat

** In the 107th Congress, the Senate majority passed from party to party so that each party held the majority twice during that Congress.

As you can see from the chart above, Mary Ann Marsh’s statement doesn’t work in any way.

The House was held by the Democrats 14 of the last 26 years.

The Senate was held by the Republicans 14 of the last 26 years.

The White House was held by the Republicans 18 of the last 26 years.

Republicans held both the White House and both houses of Congress for two congresses (and part of one), the Democrats for one congress in the past 26 years. But if you go back a little further, Jimmy Carter’s Administration was completely Democrat. Both houses and the White House were in Democrat hands.

And that’s around the time Joe Biden started out in the Senate…

Barack Obama again today talked about John McCain and old boys’ networks and “he’s been in Washington for 26 years”, yada, yada, yada.

Joe Biden’s been in for 36 years.

Isn’t 36 years 10 years more than 26?

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