Does Macroeconomic Theory Influence Macroeconomic Policy?

Peter Klein answers in the negative and I wholeheartedly agree.  Macro policy seems to be based on distributional concerns related to the next election rather than the long-run implications on future growth or the size of the deadweight loss.  Does anyone think that the leaders of either party consider the aggregate welfare costs of policies before they vote?  Since they rarely read the legislation, I have little doubt they have no idea what the costs are expected to be.  Who knows if they read the CBO analysis when it appears rather than a one-line summary of their findings.  They vote based on factors other than macro theory and evidence.