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Republican opposition to Obama nominees makes the case for filibuster reform
Keep talking, Sessions. It's helping your opponents. Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III (R-AL) says, "Jack Lew must never be secretary of Treasury." Sessions has a say because he's ranking member...
View ArticleReid reportedly backing away from talking filibuster in reform proposal
The CWA makes the case for reform. According to Politico, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is not likely to keep a requirement that opposing senators maintain a talking filibuster in his reform plan....
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Filibuster reform happens tomorrow, or not
Tuesday, Jan. 22 is the day Democrats in the Senate will either vote to make that body function again, or will institute another "handshake agreement" between Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell that works...
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Harry Reid must fix the Senate now
Sen. Harry Reid The New York Times editorial board makes the case for ending the filibuster: "The best way to end the Senate’s sorry history of inaction is to end the silent filibuster, forcing...
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Reid gives GOP 36 hours to negotiate filibuster reform
Do the right thing, Harry. Sen. Harry Reid needs to wrap up Senate rules reform, and also wants to achieve some kind of bipartisan agreement. You'd think by now he'd recognize that those two goals are...
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The clear way forward on filibuster reform: The constitutional option
Just hold the vote, Harry. Filibuster reform in the Senate is still on hold, and still in question, in the final full day for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to negotiate with Majority Leader...
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The missed filibuster reform opportunity
Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell are reportedly close to working out a deal on filibuster rules reform. While solid details haven't yet been released, and won't until the leaders hash out details with...
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The Senate approves rules for a sort-of reformed filibuster
Mr. Smith won't be going to Washington. The Senate just agreed, by a 78-16 vote, to the filibuster tinkering plan Harry Reid negotiated with Mitch McConnell. The bottom line is what Sen. Johnny Isakson...
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A new Senate?
Be careful what you wish for. Amidst all the self congratulation on the Senate floor last night after the body adopted new procedural rules to make the filibuster slightly less convenient, Harry Reid...
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Appeals court recess appointment decision gives GOP ammunition to block Cordray
Mitch McConnell, same as he ever was. The D.C. Circuit court's decision Friday that President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board are unconstitutional goes beyond the...
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Sen. Jeff Merkley talks about the broken Senate and how to fix it
Sen. Jeff Merkley sat down with Daily Kos on Saturday at Netroots Nation, graciously giving us some of his time to talk about a few burning issues before the Senate. All of them boil down to one basic...
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Enough whining about obstruction, Senate Democrats. Now act.
Senate Democrats are meeting Thursday, after Majority Leader Harry Reid brings a bunch of executive nominations to the floor to start the filibuster showdown. The cloture clock will expire Tuesday...
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Obama could make recess appointments next week
Reappoint him, Mr. President. Think Progress's Ian Millhiser spoke with Majority Leader Harry Reid's office and determined that the Senate will not be holding pro forma sessions during the Fourth of...
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CWA's Larry Cohen: 'This is not democracy!'
In a number of actions across the country today, working families and activists will be telling the Senate it's time to confirm the five nominees to the National Labor Relations Board that Republicans...
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'We're not going to transform our country if we don't stand up for democracy'
When the Senate returns to work next week, pending nominations to the cabinet, the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are going to be at the fore. As is...
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Don't let another 'gang' derail filibuster reform, Harry
Fight this time, Harry. Fight. It's July, the immigration bill made it through the Senate, and that means it's time for Majority Leader Harry Reid and his caucus to determine how they go forward with...
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Will Senate Democrats do real filibuster reform this time?
Don't flub this time, guys. Here's one promise Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appears ready to fulfill: He said he would force a filibuster showdown in July, and by all accounts, it could happen as...
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Reid, McConnell spar on the Senate floor over filibuster
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid came to the floor Thursday morning and made the case for changing the rules of the Senate to allow up or down votes on executive nominations, and to reiterate that...
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Reid reportedly ready to file cloture on controversial nominees
The floor fireworks between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were the set up to Reid's intention to put forward a number of nominations, including some that...
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Reid tells Republicans to be reasonable or deal with the consequences
Following the Senate Democratic caucus lunch, at which senators discussed Majority Leader Harry Reid's intent to file cloture on a number of President Obama's executive nominees, the leadership held a...
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McConnell proves exactly why the filibuster needs to end
Looks like Minority Leader Mitch McConnell finally found an issue to run on: Classy, eh? Note that it is coming from his campaign. A Senate aide emailed Ezra Klein, speculating that McConnell actually...
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Public knows Republican obstruction is the problem
Tell these guys to do the right thing. Senate Democrats will be spending the weekend pondering whether they're ready to end the filibuster on executive nominations when Republicans move to block...
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Don't bluff on filibuster reform, Harry
Harry Reid told his caucus in a Thursday meeting that he "ate shit on nominees" during the Bush administration, allowing votes on some pretty awful nominees when he was leading the minority, instead...
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Reid, McConnell take the filibuster to 'Meet the Press'
Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell didn't appear together on "Meet the Press," making the confrontation far less fun to watch than it might have been, but they both made a great case for Reid going...
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Reid to Republicans: If you don't want the rules change, stop filibustering
Harry Reid spoke at the Center for American Progress Monday morning, and gave the Republicans a simple way out of potential rules reform: "stop the filibuster." Reid has set up a confrontation over...
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Mitch McConnell's hypocrisy exposes the GOP's true agenda on filibuster
Blast from the past: McConnell makes the case for confirming nominees with simple majority vote. Mitch McConnell, July 14, 2013: Filibuster rules reform on executive nominees is a "threat to blow the...
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McCain's big idea for a filibuster deal: Let the GOP pick the nominees
Has he got a deal for Reid. Shock. McCain is trying to get the gang back together.In 2005, a “Gang of 14” senators banded together to kill a rules change on judicial nominees; McCain hopes to repeat...
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Senate concludes full chamber caucus, details of McCain's 'deal' emerge
The full Senate met this evening for three and a half hours in the Old Senate Chamber in a rare full caucus to discuss filibuster rules. As of now, no deal have been struck. Senate Majority Leader...
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Reid refuses McConnell offer to drop nuclear option
Talks continued into Monday night and Tuesday morning after no deal emerged from the all-Senate meeting to avert filibuster rules reform. Late Monday evening, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered...
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Senate reaches deal on Cordray, possibly on NLRB nominations
Reports out of the Senate suggest a deal to allow for a confirmation vote for Richard Cordray to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been struck. We'll know in a matter of minutes, as...
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With nuclear option held at bay, maybe it's time for the talking filibuster
Sen. Jeff MerkleyMajority Leader Harry Reid definitely got the better of the deal in the filibuster rules negotiation. The Republicans get the face-saving concession from Democrats of new National...
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Senate to have Wednesday votes on Export-Import Bank head
Senator Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell have essentially inked the deal to avoid the nuclear option being used to circumvent minority filibusters of President Obama's executive nominations. The deal...
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Marco Rubio egging on Reid to go nuclear
No agreements for him.Looks like someone is working really hard to re-establish his wing-nut credibility. There will be no compromise from Marco Rubio, no way. A day after the Senate reached agreement...
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The 'bullshit' caucus in the GOP giving McConnell a headache
Mitch McConnell, losing. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) called "bullshit" on his "leader" Mitch McConnell in a meeting Wednesday, when McConnelll tried to reassert his dominance in the caucus and said that he...
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Filibuster reformed? Not according to Republicans
Sen. John Cornyn, proudly grinding the Senate to a halt.So much for the Senate's kumbaya moment.Rep. Mel Watt’s nomination to lead a key housing agency appears in peril. The top Judiciary Committee...
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Reid to push multiple nominees before August recess
Perhaps recognizing that the best time to convince the Senate to get stuff done is right before a long recess that might be made a little shorter if they don't finish their work, Majority Leader Harry...
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Reid could hold filibuster busting vote today
Senate Republicans have been playing games all week, refusing to allow the Senate to move forward with a vote on the sexual assault amendments to the defense authorization bill because that's just...
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Reid announces intention to break the filibuster today
Sen. Harry Reid opened Senate business this morning by making an extended case for what has to be an impending vote to break the filibuster on executive and judicial nominations. He laid out the long...
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McConnell unleashes torrent of lies in response to Reid's nuclear threat
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proved himself to be the most fundamentally dishonest politician in the whole of Washington, D.C. this morning, in response to Sen. Harry Reid's announcement...
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The rules have changed: Reid pulls trigger on nuclear option
Kaboom! Republicans dared Harry Reid to do it, and he just did, finally. The Senate has voted to change the filibuster rules, 52-48. Democrats Carl Levin, Joe Manchin, Mark Pryor voted against...
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McConnell: For going nuclear before he was against it
Harry Reid is having a fun day:I'm old enough to remember when Sen. McConnell insisted on up-or-down votes for judicial confirmations. https://t.co/...—@SenatorReid It's true. Back when he was Senate...
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What's next for filibuster reform
Now that the filibuster is officially dead for nominations to the executive and the judiciary, with the exception of nominations to the Supreme Court, what happens next? For the relative short term, it...
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Let the filibuster reform pearl-clutching commence
Dana Milbank has the vapors (and a really poor grasp of history and a total lack of perspective). Let's start with the title: "The Democrats' naked power grab." Because allowing the president to...
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The potential silver lining to the post-nuclear Republican obstruction
Judiciary Committee hearings might be a lot more interesting, even with this guy. If there's one thing that's a given that the Senate will experience post-going nuclear, it's ongoing and probably even...
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Reid laughs at idea that GOP will block more post-nuclear option
"You'll be sorry, now" is the mantra from Senate Republicans after Democrats voted to go nuclear on the filibuster. And of course The Village punditry point at those words and tsk-tsked Very Seriously...
View ArticleFrom Consent to Advice: other possible GOP avenues to block judges
(Cross-posted at the Makeshift Academic)Yesterday, we all crawled out from our radiation shelters to behold the charred remains of the Senate landscape. You see, Harry "Major Kong" Reid engaged the...
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Senate Democrats blast Republican slow-walking of key Treasury nominee
Sen. Shelby (R-AL) can't be bothered to answer questions about doing his actual job. Mitch McConnell's Senate is making headlines all over the place for stopping President Obama's judicial nominees...
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Grassley blocks State Department nominations over Clinton emails
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is blocking 20 State Department nominations so that he, too, can get in on the Hillary Clinton email nothingburger.The chairman of the Judiciary Committee in a statement...
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