> Stonecash also cites analyses of Congressional votes. That's not
> perception.
Carrol, I believe, made the point earlier that there is less to votes than meets the eye. In particular, votes cast in a safely lost cause are largely a matter of playing to the gallery without any risk of upsetting the angels who are funding the production. I argued a few weeks ago that it's the aisle-crossers who really determine -- or reveal -- what the party is actually committed to as an institution.
> And how do you explain the contrast in economic performance? Growth
> in GDP and employment is stronger under Dems. Ditto growth in incomes
> at the 20th percentile. Dems are more inflationary and Reps
> disinflationary. The stock market does better under Dems, the bond
> market under Reps.
I might have to concede that D's and R's are marketing themselves to non-identical though extensively overlapping demographics within the corporate/financial elites.