Category Archives: political parties
Roll Call Confirms What I Suspected: DOJ Bail-In Move Makes Congress Much Less Likely to Fix VRA
Roll Call:
Republican members of the Lone Star State House delegation made their position clear to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday: Don’t mess with Texas.
They also had another message for the head of the Justice… Continue reading
“Why Cities Are So Poorly Governed”
Matt Yglesias:
Conservatives are eager to blame Detroit’s problems hazily on “Democrats,” and in most respects I think that’s wildly misleading. But I do think there’s an important sense in which they’re correct. American cities across the board suffer… Continue reading
Two FairVote Reports
“New Voting Rights Law Hinges on Some Less-Visible Republicans”
David Hawkins says it may be up to Reps. Sensenbrenner and Westmoreland in the House.
Rep. Westmoreland and I were strange bedfellows during the 2006 reauthorization, when the conservative Republican lawmaker offered the pro-active bailout amendment I was pushing to… Continue reading
The Chances of a Deal to Fix the VRA After Shelby County? Observations about the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
I had a chance to watch a good part of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. It makes me more pessimistic about the chances of a deal to improve the Voting Rights Act after the Supreme Court effectively gutted section… Continue reading
“The Senate that Senators Want”
Monkey Cage guest post from Eric Schickler and Greg Wawro:
Events in the Senate over the past few weeks offer two clear lessons. First, a simple majority in the Senate has the power – and indeed has long had the… Continue reading
“The Senate didn’t go nuclear. But, actually, it kind of did.”
Ezra Klein: “This will be the new normal. It will be the new normal under Democrats and then it will be the new normal under Republicans. The Senate stopped short of actually ending the filibuster against executive-branch nominations today. But… Continue reading
“Reid announces tentative deal to avert rules showdown”
The latest from WaPo.
“Senate’s Leader Sets Showdown Over Changes to Filibuster”
NYT:
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada took a defiant and uncompromising stand on Monday before a showdown on the future of the filibuster, saying that Republicans must stop blocking executive branch nominations or he will try to change rules… Continue reading
“Democrats: It’s the States, Stupid!”
Herman Schwartz:
Unless the Democrats wake up to the importance of winning state legislative elections, they are likely to remain a largely impotent minority in the House of Representatives and equally feeble in the state legislatures. The momentous Supreme… Continue reading
“Speak Softly….and Carry a Nuclear Stick”
Sarah Binder on the filibuster fight.