Rubber stamp, rubber stamp, rubber stamp. That's what voters here - and in contested districts elsewhere - heard repeatedly last year about their Republican congressman: "(Insert name) is a rubber stamp for President Bush and the GOP leadership."

The Democrats reclaimed Congress. Now Republicans are copying their playbook.

Last year, New Hampshire's Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley were each named "Rubber Stamp of the Week" by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which slapped a red "APPROVED" across their faces on its website and displayed the percentage of votes each cast for policies aligned with Bush (75 percent for Bass, 80 for Bradley) and Tom DeLay (88 percent for Bass, 90 for Bradley).

Now the National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a nearly identical website, TheRealDemocratStory.com. It contains dossiers on 11 new Democrats, including New Hampshire's Carol Shea-Porter, complete with rubber-stamp graphics and stats on how often each has been "strong-armed" by "out of touch" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In Shea-Porter's case, it's 100 percent Pelosi. The site even makes frequent use of red capital letters, including the word "LIBERAL" exposed by a magnifying glass.

Shea-Porter chuckled when we asked her about it, comparing the site to "ducks nibbling."

"It might be a little annoying, but it doesn't hurt," she said.

The 1st District Democrat said she's proud of her voting record and that there's no shame in being associated with Pelosi-backed policies. That's different from last year, when Bass and Bradley responded to their rubber-stamp honors by stressing their independence from Bush and DeLay.

"We are united, we are working for the middle class and to lift others into the middle class, and our legislation is representing the needs of this country," Shea-Porter said. "And so far I have voted I think 100 percent of the time with (Democratic leaders) because frankly I think they're 100 percent right."

Among other significant bills, Shea-Porter said, Democrats have used their numbers to raise the minimum wage, cut interest rates on student loans, require the federal government to negotiate for lower prices for Medicare prescription drugs, protect "whistleblower" employees in federal government and establish a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq.

"As long as we keep putting legislation up that represents the American public, I'll be right there voting with them," Shea-Porter said.

It seemed just one thing irked her about the NRCC site - its use of unflattering candid photos. "They took my chin and elongated it," she said, alleging Photoshop high-jinks. "I don't look like that."

Couldn't agree more

The 110th Congress has cast 213 roll-call votes so far, which includes final votes on critical bills as well as scores more on procedural steps or simple resolutions. Shea-Porter and 2nd District Rep. Paul Hodes have each cast 212 roll-call votes; Shea-Porter missed a procedural vote during the adoption of the House rules on the first day, and Hodes missed a vote to support the goals and ideas of National Engineers Week.

On the 211 roll calls for which each have been present, Hodes and Shea-Porter have identical records. They have voted with a majority of Democrats 209 times.

Twice, they voted with a minority of Democrats on roll calls that split the party almost evenly, though they weren't consequential votes: in favor of recommitting the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act, and against a failed amendment during the budget process. (Pelosi did not cast a vote on either of those.)

A spokeswoman for Hodes - who has yet to be singled out by the NRCC - said the similar records were more a matter of confluence than collaboration. "Congressman Hodes does not consult with Congresswoman Shea-Porter before he votes," said Bergen Kenny, Hodes's press secretary. "If they do vote the same way, it's probably because both put New Hampshire's interests first." (next page »)