Below we use Optimal Classification (OC) in R to plot the House’s 219-206 vote on a $1.1 trillion spending package (the so-called Cromnibus). The vote split both party caucuses, with House Republicans voting 162-67 in favor of the bill and House Democrats splitting 57-139 against it.

The bill angered ideologues on both sides, and the result was a “two-ends-against-the-middle” vote in which a coalition of more moderate Republican and Democratic legislators united to pass the measure. The mean first dimension (representing liberal-conservative position) score of Democrats who voted Yea is -0.41, compared to a more liberal mean score of -0.49 for Nay Democrats (p < 0.01). The mean first dimension score of Yea Republicans is 0.38, compared to a more conservative mean score of 0.44 for Nay Republicans (p < 0.01).

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Note: The plot show only 217 Yea and 203 Nay votes because several newly-elected members have not yet cast enough votes to be included in the scaling.