Filibuster

Friday Talking Points: Is Opt-Out The Answer?

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.14.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

The plan isn't going into effect until 2013. Think you're tired of TV ads and screaming folks at town hall meetings now? Picture a more local version of that for the next four years -- not a pretty sight.

Friday Talking Points [96] -- The Impressiveness of Alan Grayson

Chris Weigant | Posted 10.03.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

First, let's get rid of the distractions this week. Chicago will not be getting the Olympics in 2016, even after President Obama went over to Copenha...

Baucus' Bill Not Bipartisan, But Panmedia

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.16.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

Baucus' was supposed to be the "bipartisan" bill, but the only way it can truly be referred to as such is in the growing bipartisan distaste for the bill.

Cloture Passes On Cass Sunstein, 63-35

Washington Independent | David Weigel | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics


On a 63-35 vote, the Senate has broken the filibuster against Cass Sunstein, President Obama's nominee for Administrator of the White House Office of ...

The Daily Pulse: Deep Six the Gang of Six

Lindsay Beyerstein | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics


Lindsay Beyerstein

The White House has given up on Republican gangster Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY). They finally got the hint when Enzi told a radio listeners that Democrats wanted to kill the elderly.

Anti-Reform Group Pumping Calls Into Nebraska Urging Senator Nelson To Help GOP "Kill" Reform

The Plum Line | greg Sargent | Posted 10.17.2009 | Politics


Here come the robocalls. In a clear sign that anti-reform forces are banking on "centrist" Dems to help block health care reform, the well funded gro...

Friday Talking Points [91] -- Win One For Teddy

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.28.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

Calling for some sort of decorous avoidance of politics during politicians' funerals is downright ridiculous. It'd be like eulogizing Charles Lindbergh and not mentioning airplanes.

Sen. Ted Kennedy: A Loss for the Nation Should Not Mean a Loss for Democracy

Rob Richie | Posted 09.27.2009 | Politics


Rob Richie

As the nation honors Sen. Kennedy, I trust his former advisers will drop this effort to revise Massachusetts law in pursuit of short-term partisan advantage.

Weekly Pulse: Public Option on Life Support

The Media Consortium | Posted 09.19.2009 | Politics


The Media Consortium

The White House is sorely mistaken if it thinks that the public option belongs in the "nice but not necessary" category. Without it, there's little hope of containing costs or reigning in the power of insurance companies.

Ryan Grim

Where Is Kent Conrad Getting His Whip Count?

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 09.17.2009 | Politics


There are 60 members of the Senate's Democratic caucus -- so why is Sen. Kent Conrad insisting that that there aren't enough votes to pass a public he...

Small States with Big Power

Mike Lux | Posted 09.11.2009 | Politics


Mike Lux

Is it fair that the key gang of six negotiating health care in the Senate Finance Committee represent less than 3% of the nation's population?

Sonia and the Supremes

Shawn Healy | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics


Shawn Healy

Given the alignment of stars in Sotomayor's strive for the Supremes, her sterling resume made confirmation all but inevitable.

We Need a Jobs Package, Not a Stimulus Package

Mike Lux | Posted 08.08.2009 | Politics


Mike Lux

All this talk about a second stimulus package is fundamentally besides the point. What we need is a comprehensive policy package that is very simply focused on one thing and one thing only: jobs.

The Sanders Rule: All Bills Get Up or Down Votes

Cenk Uygur | Posted 08.02.2009 | Politics


Cenk Uygur

What is the point of getting to 60 senators in the Democratic caucus if you can't keep the caucus together on all of the votes? Well, Bernie Sanders has the answer.

Why "60 Votes" Doesn't Matter (and 70 Wouldn't Either)

Jesse Berney | Posted 08.01.2009 | Politics


Jesse Berney

What keeps Democrats from accessing their inner Tom DeLay and ramming effective bills through when they clearly have the power to do so? They've got a bug. It's called bipartisanship.

How Green Is Al Franken?

treehugger.com | Posted 08.01.2009 | Green


Franken brings the number of Democratic senators to 60, meaning they'll have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. So what does all this mean for...

What 60 Democratic Senate Votes Really Means: Welcome to the Age of Ben Nelson

Dan Sweeney | Posted 08.01.2009 | Politics


Dan Sweeney

Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe lost a huge amount of power yesterday. The battle to get to 60 votes was focused primarily on them, but now the focus will be on moderate Democrats rather than moderate Republicans.

Sam Stein

Democrats Caution: Franken Won't Drastically Change Political Realities

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 07.31.2009 | Politics


Moments after former Sen. Norm Coleman conceded the drawn-out Minnesota Senate election to Al Franken, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said that that he would sign ...

Schumer: Sotomayor Is 'Filibuster-Proof'

AP | Posted 07.01.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A leading Democratic senator says that President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee is "virtually filibuster-proof" when his coll...

Friday Talking Points [79] -- Judicial Activism And Bias

Chris Weigant | Posted 06.29.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

"Judicial activism" (or, alternatively, "legislating from the bench") is defined -- no matter what your political beliefs -- as "judges not ruling the...

Left is the New Center

Nancy L. Cohen | Posted 06.25.2009 | Politics


Nancy L. Cohen

Contrary to conventional wisdom, it looks as if the Left's much derided cultural liberalism is the key to cementing the Democrats' majority status for the coming years.

Who Needs Republicans With Democrats Like This

Norman Lear | Posted 06.25.2009 | Politics


Norman Lear

Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, might vote to join a Republican filibuster if President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court is an activist judge.

The Logic of Terror

Carl Pope | Posted 06.14.2009 | Politics


Carl Pope

The personalization of public services exists on both sides of the aisle -- but it is the Republican leadership that has put minority rule on steroids.

Filbusters and Holds Have No Place on Confirmations

Sandy Maisel | Posted 06.14.2009 | Politics


Sandy Maisel

Holds are inherently undemocratic. The filibuster was never meant to be used for such purposes. And it is time for the United States Senate to mend its ways.

The Specter Switch: The Downfall of the Democrats?

Susan J. Demas | Posted 06.12.2009 | Politics


Susan J. Demas

Those who forget the fact that America is a moderate country tend to perish.