Joe Biden

Biden's Office Complains After Reporter Ambush

Susan Crabtree | October 25, 2011, 9:47AM

Vice President Joe Biden

Vice President Joe Biden's office is none too pleased with a tricky reporter ambush of him that got ugly and went viral last week.

Biden, never one to shy away from reporters even after a career of headline-making gaffes and wisecracks, is drawing the line. Biden's office has complained to the Senate press gallery about a confrontation he had with a conservative reporter, The Hill reports.

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Occupy D.C.

Anti-War Protesters Storm Senate's Hart Office Building (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | October 11, 2011, 12:55PM

Members of the anti-war Stop the Machine and October 2011 movement attempted to take over the atrium of the Senate Hart Office Building on Tuesday, chanting "we are the 99 percent" and "end all wars" before Capitol Police cleared the area and made a handful of arrests.

Stop the Machine and October 2011 protesters were the chief organizers, but were joined by people who said they came to town for the Occupy D.C. protest. Some of the chants also took on the branding of the "Occupy" movement, including chants about taxing the rich.

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Occupy D.C.

Protesters Plan To Try To Shut Down Senate Hart Building At 11:30

Ryan J. Reilly | October 11, 2011, 11:25AM

Protesters with the Occupy D.C. and Stop The Machine movements will try to shut down the Senate Hart Building at 11:30 a.m today.

Protesters were gathering in the atrium of the building as Capitol police officers loomed nearby and as other demonstrators in anti-war gear set themselves up in the lobbies of floors overlooking the lobby.

The protestors made their way from Freedom Plaza, where they've set up camp, to Capitol Hill in small groups, trying to avoid a "march" down Pennsylvania Ave.

"Is the Hart building, how do I get to the Hart building? Am I in it?" one protester asked a a Hill staffer.

We'll have updates as the situation develops.

Late update: There were a handful of arrests during the demonstration, which was organized by Stop The Machine and October 2011 protestors but was joined by people who said they were affiliated with the Occupy D.C. movement.

Sheldon Whitehouse

Sen. Whitehouse On Disaster Funding: Take That, Tea Party!

Susan Crabtree | September 27, 2011, 6:04AM

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Democrats are hoping Republicans' more conciliatory spirit displayed Monday night to avert a government shutdown over disaster aid is a sign of shifting political winds after August's debt showdown that resulted in Standard & Poor downgrading the nation's creditworthiness.

After the vote last night to fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency through November, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told TPM he hopes the Senate's agreement to pass a compromise bill sends a message to Tea Party House GOP members that the do-or-die brinkmanship has got to go.

"I think we were less close to the precipice this time," he said. "I think there was a little bit more anxiety on the part of the GOP to go there, and I hope it sends a message back to the House and the Tea Party that the Senate is not going to be amenable to this stuff anymore."

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Debt

HIGH NOON: The Senate Will (Probably) End The Debt Ceiling Crisis At Midday

Thomas Lane | August 2, 2011, 6:00AM

If all goes well in Washington today, then shortly after noon the nation's debt ceiling crisis should be over. Around that time the Senate is due to take up last-minute legislation that the House passed Monday night.

Senate leaders seem confident they have at least the 60 necessary votes to carry the deal. If they're right, then the final bill would move swiftly to the President's desk for his signature. Once the ink is on the page, the the debt ceiling can be raised ahead of the nearing deadline, and the ticking timebomb of default will be defused.

It will be the end of a dangerous game of chicken that shook markets across the world as creditors faced up to the possibility that for the first time in its history America might fail to pay its credit obligations.

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Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson Paralyzes Senate Over Budget Fight

Benjy Sarlin | June 28, 2011, 4:49PM

Ad from candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson (R-WI), "57"

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) ground the Senate to a halt on Tuesday, threatening to block "business as usual" until Democrats submit a budget.

Johnson began his broadside by objecting to a quorum call, blocking the Senate from proceeding with a vote. Quorum calls, like many basic Senate procedures, are approved by unanimous consent and Johnson threatened in a floor speech to wreak havoc on these uncontroversial motions.

"Business as usual is bankrupting America," he said in a floor speech. "It must stop."

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Medicare/Medicaid

Debt Deal Could Spare Middle and Upper Class Seniors, But Slam The Poor

Benjy Sarlin | June 20, 2011, 5:45AM

Medicaid recipients receive treatment

Democrats' rallying cry on deficit talks couldn't be clearer: It's the elderly, stupid.

That means Medicare benefits are off-limits, a message that Democrats plan to reinforce at every opportunity through November 2012. With Republicans demanding trillions in cuts to raise the debt limit, however, savings are going to have to come from somewhere. The most logical option left is Medicaid, a favorite conservative target whose low-income recipients carry little clout in Washington compared to Medicare's elderly and middle-class base.

But there is one politically tricky obstacle to cutting Medicaid: Millions of seniors -- including those who consider themselves middle class -- rely on Medicaid cover their nursing home care, meaning any raid on its funding could complicate Democrats' image a the tireless champion of retirees across the land.

Mindful of the problem, aides and lawmakers are floating a way forward: shielding the elderly from Medicaid cuts while slashing aid to poor and uninsured Americans.

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Navy Seals

Sen. Ayotte: I've Seen A Photo Of Slain Bin Laden

Susan Crabtree | May 4, 2011, 2:16PM

US Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Update at 3:47 p.m.: Sen. Saxby Chambliss' office says he didn't show Ayotte the photo and he has not seen it himself.

Amid reports that the White House will not release a photo of a slain Osama bin Laden, a photo of bin Laden is circulating among some senators.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) tells TPM another senator showed her a photo of a deceased bin Laden with the understanding that it was an authentic photo the Navy Seals took of him after he was killed.

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Gas Prices

Reid to GOP: Just Try Voting Against Ending Subsidies For Oil Giants

Susan Crabtree | April 27, 2011, 3:52PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is following the White House's lead by seizing on the populist idea of ending subsidies for the five largest oil giants.

Reid said he would hold a vote as soon as possible on a bill to eliminate the tax breaks for the five largest oil companies, Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips, which have reported record profits in recent weeks and months.

"We have to take away the subsidies for these five major oil companies," he told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. "There's no need for these subsidies. The companies have broken records [with their] profits."

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Labor

Top Union Presses Senators To Ditch Union-Busting Push By House GOP

Brian Beutler | April 20, 2011, 12:43PM

A powerful union is lobbying Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators to make sure they don't curtail worker rights when they finalize new FAA legislation.

A conference committee composed of a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen will soon sort out differences between two different versions of the bill. But the House bill contains a provision that would make it much more difficult for airline and rail workers to form unions. More on that provision here -- it would reinstate old rules that count abstentions as "no" votes in union elections, thus stacking the deck against pro-union workers.

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Lindsey Graham

Showdown Over Port vs. Pork Averted: Graham and Reid Reach Deal

Susan Crabtree | April 14, 2011, 7:34PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Another shutdown showdown averted -- this time the shutdown of the Senate over the paltry sum of $50,000.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have reached an accommodation to provide $50,000 for a study on deepening the Port of Charleston, and now Graham is standing down and is no longer threatening to "tie the Senate in knots" and block Obama's nominations from winning Senate approval.

"Now, it's not often that I'm a cheerleader for pieces of legislation that are suggested
and moved forward by Republicans, but I was on this one," Reid told Graham in a remarks on the Senate floor Thursday evening.

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Lindsey Graham

Graham Vows To 'Tie Senate In Knots' Over $50K Left Out Of Budget Deal

Susan Crabtree | April 13, 2011, 9:08AM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Update: Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) office issued a detailed defense of his threats to "tie the Senate in knots" and block all of Obama nominations over $50,000 left out of last week's 11th-hour budget deal for a study on deepening the Port of Charleston.

For critics who said the state should come up with its own funds for the Army Corp of Engineers' study to deepen the port, Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop said such an easy solution is actually impossible under federal law.

The South Carolina State Ports Authority, which is responsible for operations of the Charleston Port, is ready to write the check for the state's share of the the study, but federal law requires Congress to cough up funds to enable the Army Corp of Engineers to move forward with the study. It would be the second step in the process; a first study already determined a federal interest in deepening the harbor.

"The Corps requires virtually all ports around the country to shoulder some of the costs of feasibility studies, engineering, and design on harbor deepening," Bishop said. "South Carolina is ready to go. Now we're waiting on the feds to kick in their share. Without that green light, our state is stuck in neutral and cannot proceed."

Not all Republicans were celebrating Tuesday about the fine print of the $38.5 billion in cuts House Republicans managed to wrangle in last week's 11th-hour budget showdown. Tea Party loyalists who wanted tens of billions more cut from this year's spending were shaking their heads, and at least one senator was lamenting a budget omission he said would hit his state's economy hard.

In fact, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was down right incensed over the decision not to include a mere $50,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers study on deepening the Port of Charleston in his home state and vowed to "tie the Senate in knots" by holding up Obama administration nominations.

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Libya

Senate Dems to Delay War Powers Resolutions Until After Briefing

Susan Crabtree | March 29, 2011, 5:41PM

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has asked his caucus to postpone any Libya resolutions until after they receive a classified briefing Tuesday evening.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to brief senators Wednesday night. Afterward, Reid said, all bets are off and Democrats can offer any type of War Powers Resolution they want.

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Libya

Kerry and Lugar to Obama: Where Are You On Libya?

Susan Crabtree | March 17, 2011, 2:02PM

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

Congressional supporters and opponents of U.S. military intervention in Libya on Capitol Hill are calling on President Obama to clearly define U.S. interests in the Arab country as well as the type of air strikes and other options the administration is pushing in an attempt to prevent Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi from prevailing against rebel forces.

In hearings Thursday, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Sens. John Kerry (D-Ma) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), respectively, expressed opposite views on imposing a no-fly zone in Libya. Kerry views it as vital to the success of opposition forces; Lugar thinks it would be too costly. But both want the President to step in and use the bully pulpit to clearly articulate his views on the increasingly violent clash.

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Dean Heller

Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) Announces Run to Replace Ensign

Benjy Sarlin | March 15, 2011, 11:35AM

Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV)

The open seat left by Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) scandal-aided retirement in Nevada has drawn its first official top-tier candidate: Republican Congressman Dean Heller.

In an e-mail to supporters obtained by the Las Vegas Sun's Jon Ralston, Heller announced his candidacy, which was already long expected by political observers regardless of whether Ensign retired. Heller's note overwhelmingly focuses on fiscal issues and he proudly touts his vote against TARP, setting up a preview of the race ahead.

"My view then, just as it is now, is that debt fueled bailouts only hurts [sic] long-term economic growth and places taxpayers on the hook for the excesses of Wall Street," Heller wrote. "Now I want to take this fight to the United States Senate."

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Jeff Flake

Flake Joins GOP Frosh Fray, Won't Vote for Next CR

Susan Crabtree | March 14, 2011, 6:35PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a longtime fiscal conservative who is running for Senate, is closing ranks with his fellow Tea Party loyalists in rejecting the latest stop-gap spending measure crafted to avoid a government shutdown and which has the backing of the House GOP leadership.

"How are we ever supposed to tackle the grave fiscal challenges before us like the debt ceiling, the debt, and the FY2012 budget when we just keep punting on FY2011 spending?" Flake said in release Monday afternoon.

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Barack Obama

Obama: U.S. 'Slowly Tightening The Noose' Around Qaddafi

Susan Crabtree | March 11, 2011, 3:25PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama says he is "absolutely" concerned about Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi prevailing against opposition rebels but said the U.S. and its allies are "slowly tightening the noose" around him in an effort to push the dictator from power.

"I've not taken any options off the table at this point," Obama said in Friday press conference. "...We've moved as swiftly as any international coalition has ever moved to take sanctions...I have not foreclosed any options."

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James Clapper

Graham Calls For Ousting DNI Clapper After a Series of Stumbles

Susan Crabtree | March 10, 2011, 6:34PM

National Intelligence Director James Clapper

The Director of National Intelligence is a thankless job. Little wonder why the key administration position, which oversees coordination among the nation's 16 intelligence agencies, has turned over four times in its five-year existence.

On Thursday, President Obama's DNI James Clapper had a particularly rough day of it.

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Frank Lautenberg

Lautenberg Decries Senate Republicans' 'Toxic Tea' For Students, Women And Environment (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 10, 2011, 6:30PM

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) decried the "toxic tea" being "brewed" by the Tea Party Republicans in Congress on the floor of the Senate Thursday, highlighting proposed cuts to early education funding, college tuition assistance, women's health care and environmental protections.

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'Obama's Wars'

McCain, Graham Lead Effort to Strip Holder of Detainee Authority

Susan Crabtree | March 10, 2011, 3:47PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

Six senators, led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), are pushing for sweeping changes to the nation's laws governing detainees and the war on terror, including one that would strip Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department as a whole of the power to make decisions about where to try suspected terrorists.

The group of senators, which includes Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Scott Brown (R-MA), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), are working with Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee on a bill that would usher in comprehensive detainee policy changes and would, among other things, affirm the military's right to detain, hold and interrogate detains at its discretion without the involvement of the Department of Justice or Holder.

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Libya

K Street Firm Explains Why It Lobbied for Libya Then Abruptly Cut Ties

Susan Crabtree | February 23, 2011, 5:44PM

Fmr. Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA)

Former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA) severed his firm's lobbying contract with the Qaddafi-controlled government of Libya in the fall of 2009, after Qaddafi's son welcomed the individual convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 back to his home country as a conquering hero.

"Saif Qaddafi gave him a really public greeting broadcast around the world to welcome him home as a hero of the state -- that was just too much," Livingston told TPM in a telephone interview.

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Jeff Flake

GOPer Flake Takes The High Road On Possible Giffords Senate Run

Susan Crabtree | February 16, 2011, 3:30PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who announced his Senate bid this week, is taking the high road when it comes to the possibility of a general election match-up against the rapidly and remarkably recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

"The most wonderful thing in the world would be to have her make a Senate run," Flake told TPM in an interview Tuesday.

While Flake declined to discuss whether he could beat her in a head-to-head Senate race, he said a Giffords' Senate run in 2012 would be an incredible and welcome development.

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Government Shutdown

Back Channel Negotiations Could Forestall A Government Shutdown

Brian Beutler | February 16, 2011, 12:00PM

President Barack Obama meets with Republican and Democratic leaders

Now that President Obama has threatened to veto the House's spending legislation, things will really heat up.

As House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D_MD) reminded reporters yesterday, President Clinton drew some bright lines himself during the budget fight in late 1995 -- and we all know how that one ended. And House Republicans are set to add a bunch of riders to the spending package, which will make it even more toxic to Democrats.

One way out of this for House Republicans would be to set up back-channel negotiations with Senate leadership and the White House and basically take the ball out of the hands of rank-and-file conservatives who want to undermine the administration in unacceptable ways.

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Barack Obama

Obama Threatens To Veto House GOP's Spending Bill

Susan Crabtree | February 15, 2011, 5:03PM

President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama isn't waiting for Senate Democrats to reject House Republicans' proposed $61 billion in spending cuts for this year's government operations.

Even before the bill passed the House, as expected later this week, Obama fired a shot across Congress' bow and threatened to veto the spending bill that would keep the government running after March 4.

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Secret Holds

Senators Get New Guidelines In Wake Of Secret Holds

Brian Beutler | February 11, 2011, 12:40PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)

A Senate source passes along a memo that's been circulated to all Democratic offices explaining how things will change now that the rules forbid secret holds.

You can read the entire memo here, though be aware it's written in the inelegant prose of parliamentary procedure.

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Iraq

Top Dem Says GOP Spending Cuts Will Screw Up Iraq Strategy

Brian Beutler | February 4, 2011, 11:46AM

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI)

A House GOP plan to carve State Department spending out of the sacrosanct pool of "security" appropriations, and lump it in with "non-security" appropriations could upend the Obama administration's strategy in Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I'm not sure the House folks [considered] it runs flat into our strategy in Iraq," Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) told me Thursday after an evening vote.

The House took its first step in executing the plan Thursday, when Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan introduced spending limits that would leave the State Department with $9.7 billion -- or 17 percent -- less than Obama requested.

The timing couldn't be worse.

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Spending

Democrats Say House-Proposed Spending Limits "Unworkable"

Brian Beutler | February 3, 2011, 2:00PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)

On Thursday, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced new limits on spending to fund the government through the end of September. The proposal itself falls a bit short of the GOP pledge to slash spending by $100 billion, on a prorated basis, this fiscal year. But already Senate Democrats are warning Republicans that they'd better willing to negotiate toward the center, or they'll risk a government shutdown.

Indeed, top Democrats addressed reporters about the GOP proposal Thursday afternoon. They criticized the GOP's approach, and its leadership, for not taking a government shutdown off the table. They even brought Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) old economic adviser -- and Moody's chief economist -- Mark Zandi to the podium to buttress their case: a government shutdown would harm the economy, spending should not be cut dramatically right now, and the standoff should be resolved quickly.

"The chairman of the [House] Budget Committee today -- today -- sent us something more draconian than we originally anticipated," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said. He called Ryan's plan "unworkable."

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John McCain

McCain Fears Sadr's Influence In Iraq Ahead of U.S. Withdrawal

Susan Crabtree | February 3, 2011, 1:18PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is expressing concern about the movements of radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr in and out of Iran and Iraq ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq later this year.

"I'm very concerned about Sadr's activity -- and his followers...I'll be pretty blunt," McCain said Thursday at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

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Health Care

Effort To Repeal Health Care Law Fails In Senate

Brian Beutler | February 2, 2011, 6:26PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

An effort spearheaded by Republicans to repeal the new health care law collapsed Wednesday evening after the Senate refused to ignore its adverse impact on the deficit.

By a vote of 47-51, the Senate sustained an objection to the legislation on the grounds that it does not comply with congressional budget rules. Because a full repeal of the law is projected to increase the deficit, waiving that point of order would have required 60 votes.

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Health Care

Republicans Hide Health Care Law Benefits From Their Constituents

Brian Beutler | February 2, 2011, 10:22AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Two days after a Republican Florida federal court judge voided the entire health care law, the multi-front Republican war against it continues in the Senate, where members will vote today on whether or not to just repeal it, full stop.

Simultaneously, Republican members are trying to sneak grenades into the heart of the law, crafting modifications which they admit are meant to destroy it.

But that presents them with a conundrum when they head back to their states and districts and face constituents who stand to benefit from the law right now -- seniors who are entitled to free checkups, and young adults, who can now stay on their parents' insurance until they turn 26, for example. Republicans can chose to help those constituents navigate the law -- answer their questions constructively, encourage them to seek those benefits -- or they can let their political agendas interfere.

Different strokes for different folks.

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Senate

Senate Ends Practice Of Secret Holds

Jillian Rayfield | January 27, 2011, 5:49PM

United States Capitol

By a vote of 92-4, the Senate today ended the practice of secret holds, in which a senator can anonymously obstruct legislation.

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Mitch McConnell

Senate Republicans Escalate Health Care Repeal Efforts

Brian Beutler | January 26, 2011, 1:56PM

Jim DeMint

There are now multiple fronts to Republican health care repeal efforts in the Senate.

The first began quietly Tuesday night, when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell used a procedural prerogative to bypass the committee process and usher the House-passed repeal bill on to the Senate calendar.

Wednesday morning, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), spearheaded a separate effort by introducing a separate repeal bill of his own, along with 34 cosponsors.

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Filibuster Reform

Filibuster Reform Effort Falls Short In Senate

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2011, 6:02PM

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)

An effort to change the Senate's filibuster rules on a majority-vote basis ended Tuesday evening under growing pressure from Democratic and Republican party leaders.

In its place, senators from both parties will soon consider a bipartisan framework, negotiated by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), which include a handful of more modest reforms.

"We don't have an agreement yet," Alexander told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "We're still having discussions. Several of our members, and several Democratic members still have decisions to make. And when we finish, Senator Reid and Senator McConnell will go to the floor and announce an agreement when there is an agreement.

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Health Care

Senate Dems Plot Aggressive Strategy To Fight Health Care Repeal

Brian Beutler | January 21, 2011, 9:17AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Senate Democrats might not let Republicans' health care repeal efforts die quietly after all.

A top Democratic aide tells me that leadership staffers are considering ways to make Republicans take tough votes on popular elements of the bill, as Republicans figure out if and how they'll force a vote on full repeal.

Nothing's been finalized, including precisely how they'd go about it. But the point would be to turn a global health care repeal push into something more piecemeal -- should seniors pay back their $250 doughnut hole check? Should children with pre-existing conditions be stripped of insurance?

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Health Care

Lock, Stock, and Barrel: House Votes To Repeal Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | January 19, 2011, 5:53PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- President Obama's signature accomplishment and the single most consequential piece of legislation Democrats passed in the 111th Congress.

All Republicans and 3 Democrats voted for the repeal measure, while 189 Democrats voted to preserve the new reforms. The final vote was 245-189. The three Democrats who voted for repeal were Reps. Mike Ross (D-AR), Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Dan Boren (D-OK). The only member who didn't vote was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who remains in the hospital following an assassination attempt on Jan. 8.

The vote fulfills one of the GOP's main promises to its base ahead of the November midterms, when they retook control of the House from the Democrats. But it's a Pyrrhic victory for conservatives. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has signaled he won't hold a vote on repeal, and any effort by the GOP to force that vote will be met with fierce resistance by Democrats who still hold a majority in the upper chamber.

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2010 elections

Neva-d'oh! 68% Of Nevadans Regret Nominating Sharron Angle

Jon Terbush | January 7, 2011, 8:45AM

Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R)

If Nevada voters could do it over again, they'd really, really like to nominate someone not named Sharron Angle, according to a new PPP poll.

In the poll, 68% of Nevadans said they think Republicans should have nominated someone other than Sharron Angle to challenge Sen. Harry Reid last year. Only 21% said the GOP did the right thing in nominating Angle, and 11% had no opinion.

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2012 elections

Larry Sabato's Early Look: Tough For Dems To Hold Senate In 2012

Jon Terbush | January 6, 2011, 11:02AM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Republicans just took back control of the House and, at least right now, they're in a strong position to retake the Senate in two years, according to an analysis of the 2012 Senate field by political scientist Larry Sabato.

As Sabato points out, the Democratic caucus currently holds 23 of the 33 Senate seats that will be on the line in 2012, meaning they have much more to lose than the GOP. Democrats will have to play a lot more defense and hope for help in the form of a strong down ticket effect from President Obama.

Also worrisome for Democrats, Sabato rates seven of those seats, six of them now in Democratic hands, as toss ups. If those races split four to three in favor of Republicans, and the two parties hold the rest of their seats, Republicans would swing their current 53-47 Senate minority into a 50-50 tie.

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Filibuster Reform

Filibuster Reform Effort Kicks Off Today

Brian Beutler | January 5, 2011, 10:43AM

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)

Today, a number of Democrats will launch their attempt to amend the filibuster.

Wednesday afternoon on the Senate floor, armed with a package of reforms, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) will take the first in a complicated, unusual series of steps that allows a simple-majority of senators to change the Senate rules.

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Filibuster Reform

Report: Reid 'Devising A Plan' For Filibuster Reform

Eric Kleefeld | December 23, 2010, 12:52PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Is momentum building for Senate Democrats to change the filibuster rules, following the past two years in which Senate GOPers used their reduced numbers to throw up more procedural blocks than in any past Congress?

As Greg Sargent reports:

At a caucus meeting this week attended only by Senators and no staff, Reid and fellow Dems devoted a significant chunk of time to a discussion about specific ideas on how to proceed, the aide says.

...

"They are already talking it through and devising a plan," the aide said of Reid and fellow Dems, adding that Reid is having "conversations" with other members of the caucus "about the best way to move forward."

Sargent reports that various ideas have made the rounds, including efforts to do away with the modern phony filibuster and force Senators to actually talk on the floor. But how would they change the rules? Sargent reports: "Dems are also coalescing behind the so-called 'constitutional option,' which has it that each new Congress has the right to set its own rules by simple majority vote."

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Filibuster Reform

111th Senate Breaks A Filibuster Record

Brian Beutler | December 23, 2010, 9:24AM

Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Harry Reid (D-NV)

If you're wondering why Dems are all of a sudden smitten with the idea of reforming Senate rules, check out this chart, passed along by a Democratic source.

Over the last two years, Dems broke more filibusters than any Senate in recorded history. In fact the only other Senate that comes close was the last Senate, right after the GOP lost its controlling majority on the Hill.

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