Why Can't Dems Filibuster the Iraq Spending Bill?
Part of the problem that the Senate Dems have is that they are playing offense while the Republicans are playing defense. Given the rules of the Senate, the defense has the advantage. Senate Dems could...
View ArticleHarry & Me, with all due respect
This morning I had yet another commuter moment while listening to NPR. Once I arrived at work (Shhh!) I couldn't restrain myself from contacting the estimable Majority Leader. I sent him the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shocking Chart of GOP Filibusters
Well, this is revolting, and it's only current as far as July:
View ArticleThe hell with you, Harry
Just received an e-mail from Harry "Give em Hell" Reid about Republican filibustering. The e-mail, my response to it, and a bit of commentary is below the fold.
View ArticleBernie Sanders predicts Dem leadership will hang tough against Republican...
I was listening to Thom Hartmann's radio show yesterday, February 20, during his weekly "Brunch with Bernie" segment where he chats with Vermont Senator Bernis Sanders, the Senate's one avowed...
View ArticleOn filibusters, cloture, and obstructionism
I've seen a lot of diaries and comments recently complaining about Republican filibusters and ways of getting around the 60 vote requirement. I count at least one, two, three, four, five, six of these...
View ArticleYes, we should have ended filibusters when we had the chance
I was rereading some of my old DailyKos posts, and came across one from September 2005, around the time most people were advocating the filibuster of Roberts. Republicans had control of the White...
View ArticleTop Comments: A Modest Proposal for Senator Kaufman
In early March of 2009 41 Senate Republicans sent President Obama a letter threatening filibuster of judicial nominees. We hope your Administration will consult with us as it considers possible...
View ArticleTime to Highlight and Reform US Senate Bad Rules
It is time to initiate a new wave of serious public oversight of how the United States Senate conducts its business. When a child is encouraged by grown ups to commit very costly fraud on the public,...
View ArticleThe President isn't a sell out: Making Sense of Today
First, my own personal opinion. Sen. Reid. Bring the public option with the state opt out to the floor and make them filibuster it. In current practice, Senate Rule 22 permits procedural filibusters,...
View ArticleCan the Dems call the Republican and 'Moderate' bluff?
Maybe somebody can explain the following to me... If there really aren't quite enough votes for cloture on a Senate bill that includes a robust public option, can't the Democratic leadership force the...
View ArticleFree Fall
This is not a news bulletin nor does this post lay any claim to either a novel idea or any stupendous prescience. It is noted here as simply a fact, one which many find very sad but which ought to...
View ArticleEnd The Lieberman/Nelson/Shelby Axis: Kill The Filibuster
Several weeks ago, I launched a petition to kill the filibuster. Thousands of people signed the petition--but our work must go on. And it takes on even more urgency with each new example of the...
View ArticleThe Bunning Effect: The Horrors of Nonselective Obstruction Exposed
I know some folks have talked about turning Bunning's name into some kind of obscene joke, but in making that their focus, they're forgetting the truly obscene joke: That in this time of need for this...
View ArticleReducing deficit spending is not the answer - See Ireland
I and others have argued for what feels like an eternity that reducing deficits is not the answer. Yesterday bobswern pointed out that Then again, as I've also been saying for almost three years, it's...
View ArticleTrumka on U.S -Korea Trade Deal: "This flawed agreement is the last thing...
Over the weekend, [President] Obama directed the U.S. Trade Representative to begin new discussions with South Korea to resolve outstanding issues in the FTA before Obama’s visit there for the next...
View ArticleMr. President: Rip them a new one!
The U.S. Senate finally passed a modest but helpful bill that will assist the nation's many thousands of small businesses by providing tax breaks and much-needed loans as they continue to struggle...
View ArticleYou Move Faster Than The System You Seek To Change.
Sometime we want what we want, and we want it right now. Sometimes we need what we need, and we need it right now. I can understand. But understand this: the system you seek to change only changes...
View ArticleThis is how it works...
The founders of this nation did not, we have often been told, envision the formation of political parties and there remains a resistance to the idea that the party is more important than the actual...
View ArticleAn Absorbed Sense Of Inferiority: Bargaining From Anxiety
Folks have offered a lot of bargaining advice over the last couple years on this site, the main (perhaps good) point being that you work your way back from the strongest outcome, rather than bargaining...
View Article
