Filibuster, Congress, Senate, Presidency, Supreme Court, Op-eds

OP-ED

Same old game of chicken

British philosopher Bertrand Russell once described the “game of chicken” as “a sport … practiced by some youthful degenerates.” While I...

ObamaCare and the Reid Rule

Suddenly, the presidential campaign season has descended on the Senate filibuster reform debate. A recent magazine headline declared,...

Filibusters Make for Strange Bedfellows

American humorist Will Rogers once quipped, “This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets...

Slowing Down on the Fast Track

President Obama went before the Congress last month to deliver his State of the Union address. It has become the norm in the...

Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Newscom) Taken together,...

Fond Farewell to the ‘Babies’ of Watergate

An era has ended. The last of the “Watergate Babies” has left the Congress. The nickname was applied to the class of House Democratic...

Stand Up and Change the Rule

Last November, Senate Democrats used a parliamentary ploy we know as the “nuclear option” to circumvent Senate filibuster rules to permit...

Nuclear Option May Come Back to Haunt Democrats

Last month, the U.S. Senate defeated a bill that would have approved construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which is...

Republicans Have the Senate, Now What Happens to the Filibuster?

Now that the GOP has swept into control of the Congress, it is immediately confronted with familiar realities. Because of the Senate...

The Nuclear Option: Does Where You Stand Depend on Where You Sit?

Nearly a year ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled the trigger on a parliamentary maneuver many have labeled the “nuclear...

Would a New Senate Majority Abuse the Budget Reconciliation Process?

If Republicans become the majority in the 114th Congress (as Election Lab’s latest forecast says is a 93% probability), Democrats are...

Should Seats on the Supreme Court Be Left to the President’s Party Alone?

During his vacation last month on Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama predicted that he would have the opportunity to appoint Supreme...

Senate Filibuster Reform Would Benefit Both Parties, Whether in Power Now or Later

There is a good case to be made for structural changes to the Senate. Clearly, the chamber is not functioning well. Continued rules...

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