filibuster

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Don't Use Budget Process for Big Reform: GOP to Obama

Procedure would allow Democrats to pass agenda with 51 votes

(Newser) - To circumvent a likely 60-vote minimum in the Senate for big-ticket bills like health reform, President Obama is considering pursuing proposals through a budgetary tactic known as reconciliation, where just 51 votes are needed and no filibustering is allowed. But Republicans are having none of it, Politico reports. Senate Republican...

Coleman Still Has a Chance: Minn. Governor

Pawlenty warns Senate that GOP will fight seating of Franken

(Newser) - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty wants his constituents—and Democratic senators—to know that Franken-Coleman race isn't over, the Hill reports. The Republican governor stresses that "to be able to guess how it's going to come out is challenging," due to legal intricacies, and he promises woe to the...

Senate Centrists Hold House Dems Hostage

Stick up to Reid, Dems urge Pelosi

(Newser) - The Senate requires 60 votes to avoid filibuster, so the 58-strong Democrats are at the mercy of centrist Republicans Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins. Politico reports that House Dems, who have no trouble passing bills on their own, are unhappy that their legislation has to run this gauntlet....

Senate Dems Don't Have Votes to Pass Stimulus

Senate moderates, GOP insist on stripping out billions

(Newser) - President Obama’s first big bill, the stimulus package passed by the House, lacks the votes to clear a Senate filibuster, reports the Washington Post. Senate moderates are proposing to strip $200 billion in spending to win GOP supporters. Says Democratic whip Dick Durbin, “100 decisions” will be “...

GOP Donors Pour Millions Into Ga. Race

'Unbelievable' sum of money fuels runoff for Senate seat

(Newser) - With Democrats just two seats away from mounting a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, GOP donors are injecting millions into Georgia’s runoff election, USA Today reports. Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss raised $1.6 million in large contributions in about a week, compared to $462,000 for Democrat Jim Martin....

Stop Bashing Washington Insiders; You'll Need Them

Consensus within the establishment is necessary for change

(Newser) - Voters have loved to hate Washington insiders since Washington’s founding, and politicians have sought to capitalize on those feelings for just as long. So it makes sense that even the GOP ticket, fortified by Sarah Palin, is running as an outsider insurgency. But, Norman Ornstein points out in the...

Ohio's 'Senator No' Metzenbaum Dead at 90
Ohio's 'Senator No' Metzenbaum Dead at 90 
OBIT

Ohio's 'Senator No' Metzenbaum Dead at 90

Crusading Democrat took on big business in long Senate career

(Newser) - Former Ohio senator Howard Metzenbaum has died at home at the age of 90, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Democrat, his views shaped by the Great Depression and FDR's policies, fought hard for the rights of workers during a political career that began in 1943. Colleagues nicknamed the self-made...

Energy Bill Blocked by 1 Vote
Energy Bill Blocked by
1 Vote

Energy Bill Blocked by 1 Vote

Dems fail to override filibuster; $21B in taxes on oil companies draw GOP's ire

(Newser) - Senate Democrats today failed by one vote to advance a broad energy bill that would have increased mileage standards to 35mpg by 2020. The sticking point for Republicans was  $21 billion in new taxes, mostly on oil companies, the New York Times reports. The vote to invoke cloture scored 59...

Clinton 2008 Looks Oddly Like Gore 2000

Frontrunner forces warmth and seems too calculating, Rich says

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is riding high in the polls now, but so was Al Gore around this time in 2000, Frank Rich warns. Worse, the New York Times columnist says, Clinton displays an alarming number of the ex-VP’s worst qualities as a campaigner. During TV appearances, she provides “rambling...

Troop Withdrawal Timetable Fails in Senate

Anti-war Dems have had a bad week

(Newser) - Antiwar Democrats continued their losing streak today as a Senate measure to set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq didn't get enough support to keep it alive. The vote on the amendment to a defense authorization bill, which would have mandated a drawdown to begin in 120...

Senator Blocks Presidential Papers Bill

Anonymous hold delays attempt to overturn Bush's records-sealing order

(Newser) - An unidentified Republican senator is blocking a bill that would overturn President Bush's 2001 executive order allowing presidents to keep their papers permanently classified. The bill, approved by the House 333-93 in March, would easily survive a presidential veto if it passed the Senate. A hold is essentially a promise...

Democrats Lose Withdrawal Vote
Democrats Lose Withdrawal Vote

Democrats Lose Withdrawal Vote

Republicans hold out against Iraq exit measure

(Newser) - Senate Democrats failed to collect enough votes this morning to pass a bill that would force President Bush to begin pulling troops out of Iraq within 120 days. After a spirited all-night debate, 52 voted in favor of the measure and 47 against, but rules require 60 "yes" votes...

Senate to Pull Iraq All-Nighter
Senate to Pull Iraq All-Nighter

Senate to Pull Iraq All-Nighter

Democrats maneuver to force up-down vote on president's war policy

(Newser) - Democrats will plunge the Senate into a rare overnight debate tonight, hoping to pressure Republicans uneasy about the president’s Iraq war strategy by forcing a simple majority vote. The session will conclude in a vote on troop withdrawal tomorrow morning. Republicans responded to yesterday's announcement by accusing Democrats of...

House OKs Withdrawal Timetable
House OKs Withdrawal Timetable

House OKs Withdrawal Timetable

Mandatory timetable giving Pentagon 120 days to start redeployment and setting April deadline passes 223-201

(Newser) - The House voted late today to require the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq to begin within 120 days as part of legislation that sets an April 1 deadline for complete redeployment. The 223-201 vote, a largely symbolic move given that Senate support isn't sufficient to override a filibuster, went...

Senate Leaders Reach Deal to Revive Immigration Bill

Vote expected before Fourth of July break

(Newser) - Derailed last week, the controversial immigration bill will get a second chance, Senate leaders from both parties announced last night. The statement followed days of closed-door negotiations, the AP reports, and a personal pledge from President Bush to immediately provide $4.4 billion for border security—a key concern of...

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