Filibuster Reform Coming?
NY Times: Democrats Poised to Limit Filibusters, Angering GOP
Ezra Klein: Mitch McConnell’s problem: How can he threaten to obstruct the Senate even more?
Jonathan Bernstein: Why Senate Reform is Needed
Category Archives: political polarization
“Democrats Plan Challenge to G.O.P.’s Filibuster Use”
NYT:
In a move that could bring to a head six months of smoldering tensions over a Republican blockade of certain presidential nominees, Senate Democrats are preparing to force confirmation votes on a series of President Obama’s most contentious… Continue reading
“Should Republicans Just Focus on White Voters?”
Interesting Tom Edsall column.
“Voting Rights Act Puts GOP in Pickle”
Roll Call:
House Republicans face a political dilemma as they consider how — and whether — to rewrite the Voting Rights Act after the Supreme Court neutered some of its most powerful provisions last week.
Failing to act would undermine… Continue reading
“Turning the Political Map into a Partisan Weapon”
The tenth in a Boston Globe series discusses partisan control and use of the redistricting process.
There’s no doubt that the redistricting process shifts (and shores up) partisan control of seats. The article also attributes increasing legislative polarization to the… Continue reading
“‘Hastert Rule’ Pushed by Insurgent Republicans”
Will Boehner Again Ignore “Hastert Rule” on Immigration Vote?
The Plum Line says that a majority of Republicans in the House may want the Speaker of the House to pass immigration reform without support from a majority of Republicans:
But either way — however we get there — it… Continue reading
“Old-School Politics Reign in California’s New Primary”
Roll Call: “California’s new top-two primary system was supposed to revolutionize the state’s political process. Instead, it’s forcing candidates to revert to an antiquated practice: competing for the state party’s endorsement.”
See also Top Two Elections and their Effects … Continue reading
President Obama Renominates Hicks and Perez to Seats on EAC, But…
See here. Don’t hold your breath on either these two nominees getting a hearing any time soon or Republicans putting forward two nominees of their own for the zombie commission. From my conversations with some influential Republicans, it sounds… Continue reading
“State Super-Minorities Lead to ‘Lone Ranger’ Movie Trip”
Bloomberg: “In a few states, those that are deeply Republican-red or Democratic-blue, the partisan hue is so one-sided that it’s creating super-minorities in some Senate chambers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.”
“House Republicans broken into fighting factions”
WaPo:
Schweikert considers himself a guarded optimist, but interviews with nearly three dozen GOP lawmakers and senior aides revealed plenty of doubt. The majority is “adrift,” according to a longtime conservative. The top five leaders hail from blue states… Continue reading
“New Data on State Legislative Polarization – What Does it Mean for Election Policy?”
Doug Chapin blogs on Shor and McCarty’s new data.
Damning with Faint Praise Dept
NYT: “Pillory Congress all you want as do-nothing or dysfunctional, as its critics often have. But in one respect, lawmakers in the Capitol are remarkably productive: they name post offices like nobody’s business. A new report from the Congressional… Continue reading
Is Boehner a Weak House Speaker?
Vandehei and Allen: “So, yes, Boehner by recent historic standards and measures is a relatively weak speaker right now. But, in fairness, it’s not clear a more bullying or forceful leader would fare much better with this gang of… Continue reading