I would like to make a simple suggestion to vastly improve the quality of reporting in Washington. Whenever a reporter writes “Republicans filibuster” they should instead replace it with the far more accurate phrase, “Senate Democrats allow Republicans to filibuster.” Simply reporting that Senate Republicans “blocked” a bill or a Presidential nominee implies that the [...]

Now that a few more Republicans have said they will vote for cloture on Chuck Hagel’s nomination the filibuster against him should end. Next week the Senate will likely again vote on Hagel and he should soon become the next Secretary of Defense. In the short term the Republican’s unprecedented move of blocking the first [...]

From its anti-democratic design, to its bizarre rules, to the absurd way it is run, the United States Senate is simply a terrible institution. Yet whenever I think my opinion of the chamber can’t get any lower the Senators manage to find a new way to disappoint me. The recent failure of the cloture vote [...]

For the first time ever a Secretary of Defense nominee will be filibustered. Some Senate Republicans are forcing Democrats to go through with the lengthy process of cloture to get a vote on Chuck Hagel. This has apparently given Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) a sad. From NPR: For President Obama’s choice to become [...]

One of the most painful things about following Congress is that it is often hard to tell if a member is being an idiot or engaged in a cynical attempt to hide their true position. You can try to educate the uninformed but you can only hope to relentlessly expose the lies. The latest game [...]

Update: Reid has reached the deal with McConnell. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is close to reaching a bipartisan deal with Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on changing the Senate rules. To even call this package of incredibly minor changes “reform” requires stretching the definition of the word almost to its breaking point. Almost nothing of [...]

Republicans have managed to whip themselves into a frenzy about the failure of Senate Democrats to pass a “budget” in over four years. What seems to be lost in this discussion, though, is the fact that the normalization of the filibuster has effectively eliminated any reason for a Senate majority to adopt a budget. It [...]

We are likely only days away from the most important vote of this Congressional term and it will not be about a piece of legislation. With a divided Congress and a deeply conservative House Republican caucus the chances for major legislative accomplishments this year are remote. The most important vote will be about something more [...]

Probably the best sign that Senate Democrats are going to reform the Senate rules at the beginning of the next Congress and there is nothing the Republicans can do about it is this comically empty threat from Speaker John Boehner. From Boehner’s office: “Senate Democrats’ attempt to break Senate rules in order to change Senate [...]

Reid’s proposal would not eliminate the filibuster. It would instead required Senators who want to prevent a vote to continuously hold the floor. What impact this would have depends on exactly how the rule is written and interrupted. It would also remove the need for a cloture vote on motions to proceed.