Filibuster

How Harry Reid And His 'little Sister' Barbara Boxer Saved The Filibuster For The Supreme Court In 2013

... This is the most important Court in the land. It literally holds the lives of the American people in its hands.”. Her concern was, and still is, that allowing a simple 51-vote majority will “ensure that people are selected for their ideology” and that the Constitutional role of The Senate to “advise and consent” will be performed not by her Senate colleagues, but by super partisan organizations. For this nomination, Boxer believes that “The Federalist Society has literally performed the advise and consent role for Neil Gorsuch.”. Often called “My little sister” by Reid, The Senate Majority Leader and Boxer have been extremely close since 1983 when they both served in The House and when Reid, as the sole Democratic Congressperson from Nevada, caucused with the California Delegation. According to interviews with Senator Reid and Senator Boxer, the ...

Nebraska Lawmakers Ok 'choose Life' License Plates After Chambers' Filibuster Fails

... on Jan. 1. The final vote came on LB 46 came after State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha mounted a last stand against the bill. Lawmakers voted 35-6 to end his filibuster, just as they had cut off filibusters during the first two rounds of debate on the bill. Chambers argued that the plates represent state support of a particular political viewpoint. The plates would feature a slogan that has become identified with opposition to abortion. Anti-abortion advocates have pushed for the bill. Chambers and others said the idea of putting controversial political views on license plates could set a worrisome precedent. “What’s next?” asked Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha, questioning whether pro- or anti-death penalty plates could follow. Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln warned that “it is not a good ...

Let's Just Scrap The Filibuster And Keep It Simple

... should emulate the House, where 218 is the magic number. Correspondingly, 51 should be the magic number in the Senate. In the Senate, the filibuster actually increases partisanship and polarization, since Democrats feel the pressure to vote in total unison, as so do Republicans. That does not allow for negotiation or compromise. There are independent-minded senators in each party who are perfectly suited to break with their party and vote their convictions and conscience. In the GOP, John Mc Cain. Angus King Bob Menendez, last undecided Democrat on Gorsuch, joins filibuster Dems force Senate 'nuclear' showdown Dems reach magic number to block Supreme Court nominee MORE of Maine (an actual independent, but one who caucuses with Democrats). The world's greatest deliberative body, as the Senate is often called, should inspire its members to be free agents, not to be bound by party discipline. This recent controversy should be the last time we as a nation have to endure this duplicitous game. It should not always be about ...

If Dems Willing To Filibuster Gorsuch, 'it’s Obvious They Would Filibuster Anybody

... Democrats are wiling to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee as qualified as Neil Gorsuch, they would filibuster anybody. In an opinion piece  published Monday by Fox News, Grassley criticized Democrats after dozens of the party's senators said they plan to vote against the President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. "It was just a year ago when we first began hearing chants of 'we need nine,' from former President Obama and Vice President Biden, Senate Democrats and their special interest groups," Grassley wrote. "To many of us, it appeared to be a simple case of amnesia. They obviously had simply forgotten that both Senator Reid and Senator Schumer had declared that George W. Bush would get no Supreme Court nominees through the Democratic Senate more than 18 months before the end of his term.". But Trump's win changed Democrats' rhetoric, Grassley wrote. "To the surprise of many Senate Democrats, in November the American people elected Donald Trump. Donald Trump Ivanka Trump’s rent costs K monthly: report White House will preserve all of Trump's tweets: reports Larry King: Trump among ‘most ridiculous’ presidents MORE ," Grassley wrote. "Suddenly we need nine became a ...

Sen. Hirono On Support For Democratic Filibuster On Gorsuch Nomination

... for the Supreme Court and why she supports a Democratic filibuster. ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST. Now we turn to Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Today she voted against sending Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court to the full Senate. And Senator Hirono says she'll support a filibuster of the confirmation vote, a filibuster that will likely trigger a historic rules change. Senator Hirono, welcome to the program. MAZIE HIRONO: Aloha. Good to be here. SIEGEL: Can you tell us what persuaded you to support a filibuster. HIRONO: I think any Supreme Court nominee should have more than the bare minimum of 51 votes in order to get onto the Supreme Court, which is a lifetime appointment. And it is very important for us to try to figure out what the nominee's judicial philosophy is because notice, we have a lot of very important 5 to 4 decisions. That ...

Democrats Have Enough Votes To Filibuster Gorsuch

... and doctors can pay Amino to plug into its technology and customize deductibles and out-of-pocket spending to employees or patients. Amino's plan has attracted several big names to its advisory board, including Dr. Ashish Jha of Harvard, Dr. Bob Wachter of the University of California San Francisco and Joy Pritts, the former top privacy official at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. It's still too early for Amino to consider going public, but Vivero said he "wouldn't rule it out.". Our thought bubble: There's a clear appetite for price and network transparency in health care especially as high deductibles, both for employer-based coverage and Obamacare plans in the individual market, aren't going away. But there's a limit to shopping in health care, as many studies have shown. If your appendix explodes or ...

Dems Would Never Filibuster Republicans’ Nominee

... traditionalists in the Senate, I was afraid of, OK, what happens when the other side has this power?" he argued in a clip first  noted by Newsbusters' Rich Noyes. "But I very recently came around … to the realization that of course they have got to do this, because in fact, when the Republicans have power and the Republican presidency, the Democrats in the Senate would not be attempting to use the filibuster this way to that degree anyway," O'Donnell said. "So, they don't need that protection in the minority.". O'Donnell then said that if Republicans appointed another judge like the late Justice Antonin Scalia, they could expect to get a huge majority. "Chuck Grassley on the Senate floor some days ago said, ‘OK, if you guys do this, then when we get back in power, we're just going to confirm ...

Eliminate The Budget Filibuster Rules First

... which has evolved into an elaborate political performance. Congress intends to give the voters the impression that they are seriously considering the fiscal needs and priorities of the country. It’s a byzantine process that ultimately comes down to whether the appropriation bills will be able to pass muster in the Senate and avoid a filibuster. A potential Senate filibuster can be avoided by way of a reconciliation instruction passed as part of a budget resolution. If some piece of legislation can fall within this exception to the filibuster rule and can comply with the Senate Byrd Rule, then a simple majority vote in the Senate is all that is needed for passage. But Senate Byrd Rule operates to prohibit the use of the reconciliation process where the proposed change would increase the deficit without an offset that reduces spending. Since the ...