filibuster reform

Are Democrats finally serious about filibuster reform?

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:21:00 GMT

Source: theweek.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Facing Republican filibuster threats over a handful of President Obama's high-level nominees, Democrats are threatening to invoke the so-called nuclear option and revise the Senate's rules to effectively circumvent such obstruction. Sound familiar? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has floated similar threats before. Yet this time, with top cabinet picks on the line, there's reason to believe he's finally ready to pull the trigger. "It hasn't gotten too much attention given the other things that are going on, but there is a battle looming this summer over the filibuster, one that could... More ...

What today’s ‘nuclear option’ fight means for filibuster reform

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:23:46 GMT

Source: www.washingtonpost.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Democratic threats to reform the filibuster in the Senate are a part of of a “culture of intimidation” that includes the targeting of conservatives at the Internal Revenue Service, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) alleged Wednesday morning. While his … Continue reading → ...

#shevotes Is filibuster reform dead? Maybe not. (Donna) http://www.huffingtonpo…

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:51:21 GMT

Source: momocrats.com --- Wednesday, May 22, 2013
#shevotes Is filibuster reform dead? Maybe not. (Donna) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/harry-reid-filibuster_n_3314798.html The post #shevotes Is filibuster reform dead? Maybe not. (Donna) http://www.huffingtonpo… appeared first on MOMocrats.com . ...

Reid Mulls Nuclear-Style Filibuster Reform For Nominations

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:52:24 GMT

Source: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com --- Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is telegraphing his intention to use the nuclear option to reduce or eliminate the filibuster for nominations this summer if Republicans follow through with their threats to block President Obama's upcoming nominees. "If he were allowed to make the decision himself, he would definitely do it," a Senate Democratic aide familiar with Reid's thinking told TPM. "He more than anybody has experienced the Republican obstruction first hand." Reid -- and other Democratic senators -- will face tremendous pressure to change the rules of the Senate if Republicans filibuster Obama's picks to run the Labor Department (Tom Perez), the Environmental Protection Agency (Gina McCarthy) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Richard Cordray). Reid said he intends to bring up Cordray's nomination this week and has also promised a cloture vote on Perez soon. The aide, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Reid's patience with Republican obstruction "has basically worn out" -- but cautioned that "at the end of the day, the reality is we do need 51 votes." And it's not yet clear he has that. With a total of 55 Democrats, he has little cushion. Reid, who has discussed the issue with President Obama, is eying such a push in July so it doesn't complicate immigration reform, the Washington Post reported . A few weeks ago, the majority leader met with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D- ...

With filibuster reform in the news again, we look at the long history of its los...

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:06:39 GMT

Source: www.facebook.com --- Monday, May 20, 2013
With filibuster reform in the news again, we look at the long history of its losing battle. Why the Senate Can’t Fix the filibuster | The Saturday Evening Post www.saturdayeveningpost.com Some Democratic senators say it’s time to reform Senate rules and curb the dependency on the filibuster. But as you can see in this classic Post article, people have been saying the same thing for at least 88 years. ...

Daily Kos Radio's #KITM podcast: 'scandal' embers dying; prospects for more filibuster reform

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:17:43 GMT

Source: www.dailykos.com --- Friday, May 17, 2013
Wrapping up the week with Greg Dworkin , it seems the embers are dying in the "scandal" fires, one at a time. The Sunday shows always run a few days behind, though, because guests and topics are typically locked in by mid-week. On the radar today: Kevin Drum's "It's Official: Those Bogus Email Leaks Came From Republicans." Turns out that news outlets got burned by Republican sources, who told them they had damning emails, but it turns out the genuine article emails were very different from those "leaked" to the press. Armando joined in to press that point, and urge accountability for ABC News' Jonathan Karl, who indicated in his reporting that he'd actually obtained and reviewed the emails himself, but clearly had not. Also, the bizarre story of a holocaust denier who reinvented himself as a Hollywood conservative player, until he was recently outed. How do these fabulists get away with this stuff? A brief #GunFAIL update. And finally, a bit more exploration of the prospects for mid-session filibuster rules reform, thanks to Doctor Who's question , and drawing on Joan McCarter's post on Harry Reid's plans to call for a vote on Richard Cordray's nomination next week. And hey, in between, we included a few personal testimonials for show sponsor Audible , and let you know that listeners can sign up & get a free audio book download at audiblepodcast.com/kagro . Let's keep 'em happy, why don't we? ...

Filibuster Reform in July?

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:23:32 GMT

Source: www.motherjones.com --- Friday, May 17, 2013
Greg Sargent reports that once immigration reform is safely finished (or killed, as the case may be), Harry Reid plans to revisit the topic of filibuster reform: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is increasingly focused on the month of July as the time to exercise the so-called “nuclear option” and revisit filibuster reform....Reid has privately consulted with President Obama on the need to revisit filibuster reform, and the President has told the Majority Leader that he will support the exercising of the nuclear option if Reid opts for it, the aide says. .... Reid is eyeing a change to the rules that would do away with the 60-vote threshold on all judicial and executive branch nominations, the aide says, on the theory that this is a good way to immediately break an important logjam in Washington — without changing the rules when it comes to legislation. ....Reid views three upcoming nominees as a key test for whether he will exercise the nuclear option: Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Thomas Perez as secretary of labor; and Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. If Republicans block those three nominees, the aide tells me, “then our position will be very easy.” So is Reid really planning to do this? Or is this merely a shot across the bow, warning Republican not to block Cordray, Perez, and McCarthy? Hard to say. But I think it's unlikely that Republicans will allow Cordray's ...

Daily Kos Radio's #KITM podcast: more angles on the IRS; renewed filibuster reform talk

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:49:08 GMT

Source: www.dailykos.com --- Thursday, May 16, 2013
During Greg Dworkin's morning roundup , we wondered whether maybe the biggest casualty of this week's scandalpalooza has really been the Benghazi hoopla. Conservative fire remains concentrated on the IRS story, though that seems to be the one that offers the most angles for firing back. But it works as a way of not concentrating on what was, until last week, the zOMG stories of the century: the debt & deficit, now plummeting at record pace. Discussion of the IRS story continued around selections from FiveThirtyEight's "I.R.S. Approved Dozens of Tea Party Groups Following Congressional Scrutiny," an old LA Times article on IRS targeting of a liberal California church , the actual Nixon White House tapes regarding political use of the IRS, Rick Perlstein's "Washington Misses the Point on the Tea Party and the IRS," Mark Sumner's "The IRS 'scandal'—all smoke, no fire," and David Cay Johnston's "The other IRS scandal." Armando chimed in from the road on these stories as well. Finally, a word about the ridiculous " wish we'd had some AR-15s in Boston" talking point, and a short catch-up on new filibuster reform talk . ...

The Man Who Cried ‘Filibuster Reform’

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:52:02 GMT

Source: takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com --- Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Republicans will get another chance to block the confirmation of an uncontroversial nominee next week, when Harry Reid holds a vote on Richard Cordray. ...

Sen. Mikulski ‘ready to go’ on nuclear option for filibuster reform

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:12:00 GMT

Source: thehill.com --- Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that she would support Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) if he chooses to pursue the nuclear option for filibuster reform. ...

“Jeff Merkley Escalates Push For Filibuster Reform”

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:35:46 GMT

Source: electionlawblog.org --- Thursday, May 02, 2013
TPM reports . ...

Jeff Merkley Escalates Push For Filibuster Reform

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:23:00 GMT

Source: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com --- Thursday, May 02, 2013
The Senate's leading supporter of filibuster reform is back at it, declaring in an email to supporters late Wednesday that the modest rules changes enacted this January has "failed" and that real reform is urgently needed. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) is teaming up with the liberal advocacy group Democracy For America to build public awareness of filibuster abuse and court supporters for reform. "It's now clear the experiment has failed. The Senate remains broken," Merkley wrote to supporters. "Senate Republicans continue to force delays -- even on bills with overwhelming public support, and even on nominees widely considered well-qualified." "Please join me and Democracy for America - and put yourself on record at FixTheFilibuster.com: We can't wait any longer to make the Senate work." Merkley's plan, known as the "talking filibuster," would force obstructing senators to occupy the floor and speak until one side gives in. By contrast, the bipartisan rules change enacted in January eliminated some hurdles in advancing legislation and nominees but fully protected the 60-vote threshold for moving Senate During filibuster reform deliberations, Merkley clashed with his own leadership for tactics he used in seeking to whip Democrats to support his plan. His spokesman Jamal Raad tells TPM the senator is "has continued the conversation over rules with his colleagues." Senate Democrats have the option to weaken the filibuster at any time wit ...

Filibuster reform would be a gift to Big Labor

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:55:00 GMT

Source: marathonpundit.blogspot.com --- Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Writing in Roll Call , Fred Wszolek of the Workforce Fairness Institute says that filibuster reform would be a gift to Big Labor bosses. In fact, Obama already re-nominated Richard Griffin and Sharon Block — the two members unconstitutionally appointed last year. Griffin is the former general counsel of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and was recently mentioned in the portion of a racketeering and embezzlement lawsuit dealing with a cover-up. And according to Fox News, the "rap sheet for members of the International Union of Operating Engineers reads like something out of 'Goodfellas.' Embezzlement. Wire fraud. Bribery. That;s just scratching the surface of crimes committed by the IUOE ranks." It is also worth mentioning that other special interests are salivating over the idea of President Obama being able to pack the courts with an army of liberal activist judges — who would receive lifetime appointments with little scrutiny and would be able to write laws from the bench that stand no chance of passage in the Congress. So now, the Senate filibuster could be the last line of defense against keeping these job-killing policies, or, worse, full implementation of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) from becoming law at the hands of unelected government bureaucrats. EFCA was sought by union bosses in 2009 and 2010 and failed miserably when both Republicans and Democrats opposed the legislation, which economists ...