Tag Archives: Cloture

The Original Sarah Palin

Posted on February 13, 2010 at 12:42 pm by Bob Cesca

Dan Quayle emerged from exile to give us this nugget of stupid about reconciliation: “So, therefore, you have 51 votes in the House and 51 votes in the Senate. That is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind. That … Continue reading →

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This Will Probably Be Filibustered

Posted on February 11, 2010 at 6:06 pm by Bob Cesca

Senators Harkin and Shaheen introduced filibuster reform legislation today. Benen describes the very sensible plan like so: If approved, the measure would not do away with extended debate altogether. Harkin proposes a new procedural model: the first go-around, the minority … Continue reading →

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Doof Quote of the Day

Posted on February 9, 2010 at 8:56 am by Bob Cesca

“God, that was a dumb idea.” Mitch McConnell yesterday on the 2005 Republican effort to kill the filibuster In hindsight, it was a good idea, actually. But “killing the filibuster” is a misleading way to describe it. The filibuster should … Continue reading →

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Bring on the Nuclear Option

Posted on February 4, 2010 at 3:26 pm by Bob Cesca

The filibuster, in the modern sense, has to go. Replace it with a real filibuster in which senators who want to obstruct have to piss their pants and talk for days on end. Meanwhile, the Republicans are getting away with … Continue reading →

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Senate Reaches Agreement with Nelson

Posted on December 19, 2009 at 10:28 am by Bob Cesca

It looks like the Senate has 60 votes without going to Olympia Snowe. I have no idea what the substance of the abortion language is, but you can read it here. UPDATE: Nelson will rear his bulbous Fred Flintstone head … Continue reading →

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Harkin Revisits Nuclear Option

Posted on December 14, 2009 at 1:28 pm by Bob Cesca

Years ago, Tom Harkin came up with a reasonable solution for killing the filibuster — a gradual phase out. Ironically, Lieberman was on board with the plan. The plan he announced with Lieberman 14 years ago would have slowly scaled … Continue reading →

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Not Good Enough

Posted on December 14, 2009 at 12:30 pm by Bob Cesca

New poll: More than 80 percent of Democrats say they believe Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) should be stripped of his powerful chairmanship in the Senate if he ends up supporting a Republican filibuster of health care reform, according to a … Continue reading →

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60 Needs an Asterisk

Posted on December 1, 2009 at 5:19 pm by Bob Cesca

Oh great. Ben Nelson’s abortion amendment is almost exactly like the Stupak language. When I read stories like this, I can’t help but to return to a pet fascination/frustration of mine. I can’t help but to seriously question the wisdom … Continue reading →

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Win, Fail and 60 Votes

Posted on December 1, 2009 at 9:55 am by Bob Cesca

Ezra Klein on the president’s first ten months: Obama has 60 Democratic seats in the Senate. His recent predecessors haven’t enjoyed majorities nearly as large. That’s the difference between him and Clinton, or him and Bush. Bush controlled 55 at … Continue reading →

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Worst Person

Posted on November 21, 2009 at 9:35 pm by Bob Cesca

Chuck Todd for this. This Twitter of his is shockingly bad. Why? Because he should know that healthcare reform has never reached this stage. He should know that the Democrats aren’t a lockstep party, and members span from center-right to … Continue reading →

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