We track eight issues. Every position has a source. With enough sourced votes and no change, a politician is a Fat Hippo. When they change position, we look for their explanation and show it. Explained, they stay a hippo. Silent, the crickets come. That's the whole thing.

How HippoCricket works

Not left vs right. We check one thing: when they changed, did they explain? We show what they said and what they did. The verdict is yours. Look up anyone and see theirs.

A Thin Hippo means no votes yet: not enough sourced votes to put a full hippo in the pond.

Thin Hippo — no votes yet. The hippo stays skinny until there are enough sourced votes on the eight issues, or until an approved flip is on the file. The window is 2015 to the present. Files are thin because most members have few sourced votes on the eight issues in that window. Older votes can sit on the file. A single older vote doesn't change the pond. An approved flip counts toward the pond whenever the votes were cast.

The pond

• No politician gets a number. Each one gets a pond picture and a stamp, and nothing else.
• The pond comes from public roll-call votes compared with the politician's own public statements. Every vote has a bill number and a link to the official roll call, so you can check it yourself.
• A clear pond means no silent flip on the file. Mud and crickets mean a flip with no explanation.
• A change with a dated, sourced reason for the change on the file is explained. A change with no reason for the change on the file is unexplained, and that's what brings the mud and the crickets.
• Thin Hippo politicians get a skinny hippo until the file is thick enough or a flip is on the file.
• Every party gets the same rules and the same pond pictures. Party is never an input.

Profile checkers

Four automated checks on the same file and the same rules. They can split.

They get the same sourced vote file and the published rules below. They do not search the internet. They do not get party. They do not get PAC money. They do not get who you like. The pond on the profile is still the published reading.

• Grok — the flips. Same-question rule. An unexplained move muddies the pond. An explained move is allowed. No sourced flip = Fat Hippo. No votes yet = Thin Hippo. This is the published picture.
• Claude — the why. Did they give a reason for the change in public? A same-bill move with no reason for the change stays unexplained. Acknowledging the move isn't a reason. Two different bills are not a move.
• Gemini — the file. Same rule as the page. Is the file thick enough to put a hippo in the pond? Thinner than that is a Thin Hippo.
• ChatGPT — the voter. Would a normal person see a change on the same bill? Different bills on one issue are not a flip.

Footnote. Checkers do not get their own definition of Thin Hippo or of Fat Hippo. The rule on this page is the only one.

If the four land in the same place, we say so. If they split, we show the split. The sourced votes stay on the page either way. Checkers do not invent a second pond.

What we track

Only these 8 core issues. They are the fights that actually move votes. Iran is current events only. Different resolutions on the same war are not counted as flips. Healthcare and the rest stay on the record. A single vote on them never changes the pond. A checked flip on any bill is listed in the Flips section and counts like any other flip. Small bills count too.

1. Immigration & Border Security
2. Abortion
3. Gun Rights & Second Amendment
4. Free Speech & Censorship
5. Taxes, Spending & Debt
6. Energy Policy
7. Crime & Policing
8. Parental Rights & School Choice

A flip is a sourced change of position. On one of those issues it shows in the issue box. On any other bill, a checked flip is listed in the Flips section. Both count the same way. Quotes, votes, and official statements only. If we don’t have a source, it isn’t a flip.

Photos

Photos are pulled from public sources and may be updated if a better one is available.

Explained = the member gave a reason for the change, in a dated, sourced public statement or in a response we confirmed came from their office. We don't judge whether the reason is good or bad, only whether it says why the vote changed. Saying the vote changed isn't a reason. A same-day correction counts when it says why, such as a member saying they pressed the wrong button. A line that cites constituent feedback without saying why the vote changed doesn't count.

Unexplained means HippoCricket checked the linked clerk or Senate roll call and dated floor and press statements from the first vote on, including the day of the later vote, from 2015 to the present, and no reason for the change is on the file. A silent flip makes them HippoCricket.

On the record — outside the issue boxes. Healthcare, Women's Sports Eligibility, artificial intelligence regulation, voting rights and election rules, term limits, age limits for federal officials, presidential immunity / accountability, current events, and money / PAC take are shown because they are public record. A single vote on them never changes the pond. A checked flip on any of them is listed in the Flips section and counts like any other flip.

Also on the record: SAVE, congressional stock trading, earmarks, and term limits. Shown on every profile that has a vote — or marked Not in chamber. Not in the issue boxes. A checked flip on one of these bills is listed in the Flips section and counts like any other flip.

Every file is the same machine: pond, why this file, party unity from the roll calls on that page, dual-party PAC take, where they stand on the eight, stance timeline, flip banners, challenge form. Type a name and see their pond. That's the whole site.

A thick file

Fat Hippo needs a thick file: enough sourced votes spread across the eight issues, and no flips. Thinner than that stays a Thin Hippo until a flip is on the file. Anyone with an approved flip has a pond.

What counts as a flip

A flip is a sourced change of position on the same measure: a landmark vote on one of the eight core issues, or a checked flip on any other bill.

Counts

Opposite positions on the same issue, both sourced, both on the actual question — a floor vote on passage, a signed order, or a public statement of position. Companion bills with the same name and the same core mandate count as the same measure.

Example that counts

Christopher Deluzio, House: Yea on passage of H.R. 29 Laken Riley Act (Jan 7, 2025, House roll call 6) then Nay on passage of S. 5 Laken Riley Act (Jan 22, 2025, House roll call 23). S. 5 is the Senate-amended companion the House voted on. Same core detention mandate. Opposite votes on passage, 15 days apart, is a flip. These are a House member’s House votes.

Does not count

A motion to proceed, a rule vote, a procedural vote, or an amendment that is not the same core mandate. A 2013 comprehensive immigration bill is not the same measure as a 2025 detention bill. “Evolved” language with no opposite vote or statement is not a flip. No source, no flip.

Current events

Current events are a separate track. Iran votes sit here. Different resolutions on the same war are not counted as flips. They never change the pond. An event stays hidden until enough sourced positions exist.

Party unity

Every profile has a party-unity bar. It is counted from the sourced Yea/Nay roll calls on that page: how often they voted with the rest of their caucus. The pond is whether they stay themselves. This is whether they stay with the party. It never changes the pond. Independents and Thin Hippos show a dash — never a guess.

Take

Campaign money, including dual-party PAC money. Shown so you can see it. Money never changes the pond.

A PAC is counted when it gave at least $1,000 to Democrats and at least $1,000 to Republicans. If they write both sides, they show up in the list. The stack of bills on a photo is that take. AIPAC in that table is committee C00797670. No PAC gets its own filter or badge. Money never changes the pond. The full file is a downloadable PAC table.

Government salary is the official 2026 rate for the office held. District median household income is shown for context. None of this changes the pond.

Bipartisan money

Some PACs give to both parties. If a donor writes both sides, they show up here. We show the amount. It does not change the pond.

Claim / Explain

Politicians can claim the profile. Everyone can see that. Gmail doesn’t work. House files take mail.house.gov. Senate files take senate.gov. The last name on the file has to be in the address, so one office can’t grab another. A typed mailbox is not a claim. A link is sent to that address. The file stays unclaimed until the link is opened. The office can then type a why in their own words. It shows on the file. It does not change the pond. That waits until the why is checked. Nominees without a .gov cannot claim. Win the race, get the mailbox, then own it. Claiming does not let them edit votes, the pond, or PAC totals. It unlocks a why box after the link is opened. Their words can sit on the file. The pond does not change until that why is checked. Own the both-sides PAC check if they want — that why stays on the file and never changes the pond. A paragraph does not make a Fat Hippo. Fat Hippo is zero flips. With no dated explanation on the file, a flip stays unexplained.

Your ballot

Street, city, state, and ZIP go to the Census geocoder. That returns the 119th congressional district. 2026 nominees are listed as On your ballot. Sitting members who are not up stay under In office now, not on your ballot. ZIP-only is refused — too many ZIPs split.

Even people who never budge aren’t “better.” They’re Fat Hippo. You can still hate the positions. That’s the idea.

How to challenge a pond →