After facing an unprecedented number of filibusters over the past several years, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is finally seriously talking about adopting a few very modest reforms to the Senate’s rules to make it slightly less dysfunctional. In response some Senate Republicans are threatening to use every stupid Senate rule available to effective shut [...]

Realizing the Senate is highly dysfunctional, the Los Angeles Times editorial board has called for the Senate rules to be reformed. The editorial though doesn’t want the Senate to adopt the proven solution of just eliminating the filibuster because they want the filibuster to retain its “legitimate and historic place.” From the LA Times: One [...]

At the beginning of next year we will have an important test to determine if Democrats actually want to govern or not. The Senate will likely have a vote on some rule changes to final start fixing the unworkable mess that the chamber has turned into. If the small changes are adopted it would make [...]

Don’t get me wrong, I think the filibuster is awful. It makes a mockery of the principles of democracy. It destroys democratic accountability. It enable politicians to make false promises they will never need to make good on. It has crippled our government. It even inherently violates the clear intent of the Constitution. That is [...]

The nonprofit advocacy group Common Cause is suing the Senate in hopes of having the rules governing the filibuster declared unconstitutional. From Bob Edgar at Common Cause: Here’s how the obstructionists work. To begin debate on a bill, senators must first adopt a “motion to proceed.” But debate on that motion, as on most everything [...]

The Obama administration is apparently inviting supporters to a strategy session about getting more federal judges approved by the Senate, according to the Washington Times. The president has invited 150 supporters from across the country concerned about the judicial vacancy rate to the White House on Monday for a forum and strategy session with administration [...]

I’m of two minds about President Obama’s shout out for Senate rules reform in his State of the Union speech. I’m glad he brought attention to the need for reform, but mostly I’m very disappointed with what he chose to call for. From the State of the Union: Some of what’s broken has to do [...]

Senate Democrats apparently are trying to scare Republicans into not filibustering every single thing, by threatening to filibuster everything the GOP tries to do if the GOP regains power. From Politico: The White House and Senate Democrats are issuing a blunt warning to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans: You live by the filibuster, [...]

What is the only thing worse than having monetary policy in America run indirectly mostly by the banksters and large financial institutions? The banksters having total control of monetary policy.

Wyoming’s two Republican senators, Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, are pushing for a rules change that would only allow an individual bill to deal with a single issue, in order to prevent the current practice of Congress passing massive omnibus bills. From Politico: Enzi, Barrasso and their co-sponsor in the House, freshman Rep. David Schweikert [...]