Over the past 20 years, and particularly the last four, something radical happened in our democracy. The filibuster has gradually transformed the legislative branch of government from a majoritarian democracy into a body frozen by a "minoritarian" veto.
WASHINGTON -- Would-be Dream Act beneficiaries aren't just angry that the bill failed in the Senate in 2010: Some also are joining a lawsuit seeking a...
Supporters of Senate filibuster reform rallied Monday on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol. Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet sent representat...
It's time to make sure that any senators who want to hold up the business of the Senate show up and own their obstruction -- instead of making empty threats while keeping our country from moving forward.
Barack Shellac hit the market to great fanfare in early November, the latest entry in the burgeoning Do-It-Yourself home-repair category. The early word: Here's a shellacking you won't find lacking. Our own findings: Don't be so sure.
The meeting was gaveled to order. (But gently -- the poor dears were short of sleep.)
Rules of the Senate cannot trump the obvious intention of the Founding Fathers that legislation passed by majorities of both houses, except for the explicit exceptions for ratification of treaties, becomes the law of the land.
Last Wednesday, immigration reform advocates cheered as the DREAM (Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act passed the House of Represen...
Here in Priorityville, we know what matters, and Mayor McConnell has his priorities straight: Tax cuts.
Ryan Grim contributed to this report. WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on Tuesday that he is moving on a major pie...
It is downright ludicrous to say that a Nobel Prize-winning economist is somehow not qualified to get a job running economic policy for the government. Until Sen. Richard Shelby realizes this, Obama and the White House should point it out.
Once you get started, it becomes quite easy to justify shaking people down for their papers. I think the police should pull over anyone who looks like they work on Wall Street, at any time.
After three days of repeated cloture votes to bring Chris Dodd's Wall Street reform bill to the floor of the Senate for debate, it appears the Republicans are ready to blink.
By refusing to back down, and refusing to "compromise" (read: water the bill down and add loopholes for Wall Street) with Republicans, Reid is showing real strength, and real leadership.
Once again, this financial "reform" process has brought into the light our politicians' brazen willingness to aid the same fraudsters who have brought a great nation to its knees.
Reconciliation may result in the passage of health care reform. But whether the public will think of that as a legislative triumph, or a commie, death panel Democratic coup will depend on the battle of the sound bites.
WASHINGTON — The filibuster – tool of obstruction in the U.S. Senate – is alternately blamed and praised for wilting President Barac...
Senate Democrats are fighting for their electoral lives against the filibuster, and Harry Reid is folding the few cards left in his hand.
There are so many ways that Obama and the Democrats can do things and get things done and fight back. But that means taking a different path and new leadership.
President Obama this week has successfully put the Republican Party on the defensive. This could be a fleeting thing, or it could be the start of a whole new way for Obama's administration to operate.
Fifty-one Senators can abolish or amend the filibuster rule at any time. They can do it today. They only have to summon the courage to act.
Apparently, after his Massachusetts humiliation, President Obama has seen the light and he's heading back to the future...back to 1992 and that mantr...
We have a president who understands the politics of campaigning but not the politics of governing.
With the Republicans becoming locked into being the party of No, Democrats are going to need to seriously consider revising the rules of the Senate at the beginning of next term.
The Senate is a system designed, for good or ill, to permit a minority to interpose itself, as obnoxiously or as honorably as they may choose. Eliminate all that, and what do you get? You get the House of Representatives.
