filibuster

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Reid, McConnell May Weaken Filibuster Reform

Senior senators hold private talks ahead of new Congress

(Newser) - Looks like filibuster reform won't be all that sweeping, after all. Junior Democratic senators—including Tom Udall of New Mexico—are pushing to revamp the rules to prevent what they say is Republican obstruction, but the Senate leadership of both parties looks ready to water down any changes, reports Talking...

Harry Reid May Rewrite Filibuster Rules

Democrats complain current system is being abused

(Newser) - Harry Reid is pushing forward with a plan to reform the filibuster procedure in the Senate—and at least make it harder for Republicans to gum up the works with the mere threat of one, reports the Washington Post . Nothing's guaranteed, of course, but all returning Democratic senators are on...

Bernie Sanders Ends Tax Speech—After 8.5 Hours

Vermont independent stages a filibuster of sorts in protest

(Newser) - Bernie Sanders took to the Senate floor about 10:30am today to speak out against the tax-cut deal—and kept on going until about 7pm. All told, the 69-year-old spoke for 8 hours and 37 minutes, notes the Huffington Post . "You can call what I am doing today whatever...

Cindy McCain Slams DADT
 Cindy McCain 
 Slams DADT 

Cindy McCain Slams DADT

...while her husband fights for it in Washington

(Newser) - Cindy McCain blasts “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in a celebrity-studded anti-bullying video—while her husband works to keep the measure alive in Congress. “Our political and religious leaders tell LGBT youth that they have no future,” she says in the spot. “They can’t...

Obama: 'I've Been Here 2 Years, Guys'

 Obama: 'I've 
 Been Here 2 
 Years, Guys' 


'rolling stone' Interview

Obama: 'I've Been Here 2 Years, Guys'

Obama defends record, says he's accomplished 70% of goals

(Newser) - Barack Obama is keenly aware that liberals think he hasn’t done enough in office—but he thinks they’re being pessimists. “I keep in my pocket a checklist of the promises I made during the campaign,” he tells Rolling Stone . “We've probably accomplished 70%.” Does...

Democrats Break Filibuster on Small-Business Bill

George Voinovich crosses the aisle

(Newser) - Republicans George Voinovich and George LeMieux crossed the aisle to help Senate Democrats break a Republican filibuster on their small-business aid bill. The bill will create a $30 billion credit fund to help banks lend to small businesses, and provide a variety of tax cuts, the AP reports. Republicans have...

Will Tea Party Turn Senate Into Fight Club?

Senate may not be able to get anything done, critics fear

(Newser) - At a recent Senate Republican Conference, Wisconsin Senate candidate Ron Johnson pointed to Jim DeMint and announced, “I’m coming to join the fight, not the club.” Johnson, like DeMint, plans to throw up roadblocks in front of any legislation that doesn’t meet his approval, and he’...

How to Kill the Filibuster With 51 Votes

By using, or almost using, the 'constitutional option'

(Newser) - The 59 or so senators growing weary of the GOP's current penchant for filibustering are increasingly looking to an option that would allow them to revamp the chamber's filibuster rules with only 51 votes—which Democrats have—rather than 67, which they most certainly don't. The "constitutional option" would...

Obama Rips Senate GOP for 'Filibustering Our Recovery'

Pushes hard for jobless benefits, small-business tax breaks

(Newser) - President Obama is slamming Senate Republicans who "filibuster our recovery and obstruct our progress" in his weekly address today, accusing them of making their stand at the expense of the unemployed "after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit." Lawmakers have...

Democrats Defy Reid, Keep Financial Debate Going

They want tougher amendments

(Newser) - Harry Reid had to fight with Republicans to begin debate on financial reform, and now he's got to fight fellow Democrats to end it. He called a vote today to move toward final passage ("We've got to put this thing to rest"), only to have Democrats such as...

Voinovich to Break GOP's Finance Filibuster

And he expects 'a whole bunch' of Republicans to join him

(Newser) - If Senate Republicans don't strike a deal with Democrats on financial reform soon, George Voinovich is going to cross party lines to insist on a floor debate—and he expects “a whole bunch” of other Republicans to make the same decision, he said yesterday. The American people “want...

Reid Shows Canny Side on Finance Bill
Reid Shows Canny Side on Finance Bill
OPINION

Reid Shows Canny Side on Finance Bill

Wiser from health reform, leader will force votes til it passes

(Newser) - Harry Reid showed that he'd learned a thing or two from health care reform yesterday when he called the Republicans' bluff on financial reform, writes Chris Weigant. The Senate majority leader "is showing real strength, and real leadership" by refusing to water the bill down to please Republicans and...

Clock Ticking, but No Deal Yet

 Clock Ticking, 
 but No Deal Yet 
talk show roundup

Clock Ticking, but No Deal Yet

Test vote on financial reform expected tomorrow

(Newser) - Harry Reid still plans an important test vote on financial reform tomorrow, but there's no bipartisan deal yet. Lead negotiators Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby said on Meet the Press they'll keep working on it today, reports CNN , while Mitch McConnell is sending filibuster signals. "It’s my expectation...

McConnell Lacks Votes for Filibuster
 McConnell Lacks  
 Votes for Filibuster 
financial reform

McConnell Lacks Votes for Filibuster

Susan Collins balks at signing his letter

(Newser) - Republican hopes of derailing the Democratic bill on financial reform appear to be in trouble. Mitch McConnell doesn't have the necessary votes for a filibuster, reports the Hill . At least one GOP senator, Susan Collins of Maine, has balked at signing a letter promising to bring proceedings to a halt....

Senate Breaks GOP's Unemployment Filibuster

Moderate Republicans break ranks to move bill past key hurdle

(Newser) - A GOP attempt to filibuster another extension of unemployment benefits failed last night after four moderate Republicans voted with the Democrats. The bill—a package of measures that includes extending benefits for another month for around 200,000 long-term unemployed—is expected to pass a final vote later this week,...

GOP Repeal Chances Little Better Than Snowball in Hell

Need big gains in Congress ... and GOP president

(Newser) - While the idea of repealing the health-reform measure passed last night has Republicans buzzing nationwide, the actual chances of it happening are tiny, Nate Silver writes. At very least, nothing happens before January 2013, and that’s if President Obama and his veto are out of office. So from there,...

Forget It, Dems: Obama's No LBJ
 Forget It, Dems: 
 Obama's No LBJ 
DANIEL HENNINGER

Forget It, Dems: Obama's No LBJ

President doesn't have LBJ's deal-making skills

(Newser) - People are urging President Obama to start acting like Lyndon Johnson, but the president isn't going to suddenly turn into LBJ any more than the 2,000-page health care bill will turn into the 4-page Civil Rights Act LBJ muscled through as Senate majority leader in 1957, writes Daniel Henninger....

Schumer May Try to Rewrite Filibuster Rules

Hearings could be a sign he wants Harry Reid's job

(Newser) - Chuck Schumer plans to hold a series of Senate Rules Committee hearings to examine possible reforms to the filibuster rules so frustrating Democrats. Schumer, the committee’s chair, hatched the plan with senators Tom Udall and Carl Levin. In the first hearing, Senate historians will testify as to how the...

Jim Bunning: Why I Dug In

 Jim Bunning: 
 Why I Dug In 

opinion

Jim Bunning: Why I Dug In

He says 'enough is enough' about Democrats' spending

(Newser) - Jim Bunning is unapologetic about his one-man stand on Capitol Hill. He doesn't object to jobless benefits, he writes, but to Democrats breaking their own rules about passing bills without paying for them. "Many people asked me, 'Why now?' My answer is, 'Why not now?' Why can't a non-controversial...

Don't Lie, GOP: Dems Aren't Ramming Through Health Bill

'It's good to see Obama displaying LBJ's wiles'

(Newser) - The Republicans' claim that the Democrats are using reconciliation to ram through a health care bill is a flat-out lie at worst and stunning hypocrisy at best, writes E.J. Dionne Jr. The health-care bill has already passed the Senate with 60 votes, and the only thing that would pass...

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