Category Archives: legislation and legislatures

“Reid Threatens Filibuster Reform With Nuclear Option”

April 8, 2013, 7:28 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

TPM: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) threatened in his most explicit terms yet to use the so-called nuclear option to weaken the filibuster if Republicans keep blocking judicial and other nominees from coming to a vote.”

Obama’s Catch-22

April 7, 2013, 8:04 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

NYT: “Members of both parties say Mr. Obama faces a conundrum with his legislative approach to a deeply polarized Congress. In the past, when he has stayed aloof from legislative action, Republicans and others have accused him of a… Continue reading

“Senate has become more partisan, less collegial — more like the House”

April 7, 2013, 5:57 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

The Fix reports.

“Tax Lobby Builds Ties to Chairman of Finance Panel”

April 7, 2013, 5:54 pmlegislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Must-read NYT: To make their case as Congress prepares to debate a rewrite of the nation’s tax code, this diverse set of businesses has at least one strategy in common: they have retained firms that employ lobbyists who are… Continue reading

“The Republican Party is officially broken: Washington’s problem isn’t partisanship or a fatally flawed system. It’s that one party is massively dysfunctional”

April 7, 2013, 5:47 pmlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

Jonathan Bernstein has written this piece for Salon responding to my new draft article (which I presented Saturday at the excellent Drake Law School symposium), Political Dysfunction and Constitutional Change. Jonathan begins: The American political system is not… Continue reading

“Preliminary Comments on the Role of Courts as Regulatory Watchdogs”

April 4, 2013, 7:29 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Introduction to new issue of Legisprudence.

“You Stuck What Where Now?” The Daily Show on How a Bill Becomes a Law

April 4, 2013, 7:27 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

For those who love “I’m just a Bill,” this is not for the squeamish. Watch.

“Recommendations for Improving the Regulation of Federal Lobbyists”

April 3, 2013, 11:42 amcampaign finance, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

New position paper from the American League of Lobbyists which punts on the issue of campaign finance regulation.

“Political Dysfunction and Constitutional Change”

April 3, 2013, 8:39 amlegislation and legislatures, political parties, political polarizationRick Hasen

I have just posted this draft on SSRN, a paper for the Drake Law School symposium I’ll be speaking at on Saturday. Here is the abstract: This Essay was prepared for a symposium at Drake Law School on “The U.S.… Continue reading

“Menendez donor reveals lobbying effort — four years late”

March 27, 2013, 12:27 pmconflict of interest laws, ethics investigations, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Politico: A company controlled by the Democratic donor in the middle of the Robert Menendez controversy this week revealed that it spent as much as $60,000 on previously undisclosed lobbying. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy South Florida ophthalmologist and investor,… Continue reading

“Filibuster Reform 2013: What Happened?”

March 27, 2013, 7:48 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Video from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s recent event, featuring: Keynote remarks by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) Panel discussion featuring: Richard Arenberg, Brown University Sarah Binder, George Washington University Alan Frumin, Former U.S. Senate Parliamentarian Moderated by John Fortier, Bipartisan Policy… Continue reading

“Ex-lawmakers go to lobbying-related jobs”

March 26, 2013, 7:23 amlegislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

USA Today reports.

“What secret e-mails from Enron teach us about influencing politicians”

March 25, 2013, 1:02 pmcampaign finance, legislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

Interesting post at WonkBlog by Dan Hopkins.

“How Foreign Governments Make Sure You Don’t Know They’re Lobbying You”

March 23, 2013, 7:11 pmlegislation and legislatures, lobbyingRick Hasen

BuzzFeed: The European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, an obscure nonprofit based in Belgium, was founded by a former top official in Ukraine’s governing party and appears to be a proxy for the country’s pro-Russian government. In 2012, the… Continue reading