Foxs Chris Wallace To Sen. Durbin: Are You Going To Change The Filibuster Rule?

Jon Kyl Still Making Sorry Excuses for Not Supporting First Responders Bill
It looks like Shep Smith isn't the only person on Fox News that was shamed by Jon Stewart into getting a bit tougher on these Republicans for filibustering the First Responders bill. Chris Wallace brought up Stewart's interview with First Responders to Jon Kyl, and in response we just got more sorry excuses as to why he still would not support the bill. Last week, an incensed Jon Stewart invited 9/11 First Responders to The Daily Show to offer their thoughts on this callous behavior. “Disg...

Jon Kyl Still Making Sorry Excuses for Not Supporting First Responders Bill
It looks like Shep Smith isn't the only person on Fox News that was shamed by Jon Stewart into getting a bit tougher on these Republicans for filibustering the First Responders bill. Chris Wallace brought up Stewart's interview with First Responders to Jon Kyl, and in response we just got more sorry excuses as to why he still would not support the bill. Last week, an incensed Jon Stewart invited 9/11 First Responders to The Daily Show to offer their thoughts on this callous behavior. “Disg...

Chris Wallace To Dick: Are You Going To Change The Filibuster Rule?
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DREAM Act Demise: Republicans, the Enemies of Christmas
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski: Living proof that not all GOPer hate Latinos I've always wondered who the Republicans hate more: Latinos or gays? Now that the DREAM Act has failed a Cloture vote in the U.S. Senate, while the effort to end Don't Ask Don't Tell succeeded, I guess we know. Naturally, I'm more surprised by the latter than the former, but maybe I shouldn't be. There are likely more Republican gays than Republican Latinos nowadays. But ultimately, the GOP will rue its obstructionism ...

Gary Hart: Restoring Democracy
Few principles are as central to Democracy and the ideals of the American Republic as majority rule. Though James Madison and his colleagues in The Federalist acknowledged the necessity of protecting the rights of Minorities, the course of our nation was to be determined by the will of the majority. No other system consistent with Democracy would prove workable. There is nothing in the United States Constitution that permits a minority to frustrate the will of the majority. Yet in the early 21...

DADT repeal passes, DREAM Act fails
Some history was made yesterday. The Senate took a big step toward ending the Military’s ban on Openly Gay servicemembers today. By a vote of 63 to 33, the Senate voted to end debate on a bill repealing the Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, opening the door for a final Senate vote on the standalone Repeal bill passed by the House Tuesday. That means a simple majority of 51 Senators can now bring the legislative fight on repealing DADT to an end. [...] Voting wit...

Sens. Kyl, Durbin Talk Lame Duck Agenda, Gov. McDonnell on Health Care Overhaul Fight
The following is a rush transcript of the December 19, 2010, edition of "Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace." This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. CHRIS WALLACE, ANCHOR: I'm Chris Wallace and this is "Fox News Sunday." Crunch time on Capitol Hill -- with time running out on the Lame Duck Congress, what happens with the new START Treaty, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and other key Legislation? We'll get answers from two Senate leaders, Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Jon Kyl....

Kyl warns 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal could cost lives
The Senate has passed a law repealing the Military's gay ban but one Republican leader is not letting the issue drop. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said Sunday that the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" could actually "cost lives" by disrupting combat units. "From a constitutional stand point, this is not a Constitutional Right or a constitutional issue as was the issue of Racial Segregation," Kyl told Fox News' Chris Wallace. "I frankly have to follow the lead of people like the commandan...

Schumer says 9/11 bill must pass now
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday that the House should stay in session until the Senate passes a new version of a bill aimed at giving health benefits to Ground Zero workers. Setting up a clash in the final days of the congressional session, Schumer – along with fellow New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand – offered a modified version of a bill Sunday giving compensation to Rescue Workers who fell ill from the toxic dust stemming from the collapse of the twin towers of the W...

Democrats Get Closer on START
Senate Democrats "appear to have enough votes to overcome a Republican Filibuster on the new START arms-control treaty, though it's unclear if they will have the 67 votes needed for ratification," Politico reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans a Cloture vote on Tuesday with a final vote for ratification on Wednesday. However, the New York Times notes that the two top GOP leaders -- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) -- have both declared today "they would oppo...

Senate Democrats Gain Some New START Support
The New START arms-control treaty moved closer to becoming a reality this evening, after Democrats gained the support of four Republicans. The treaty, which seeks to reduce the nuclear-weapons stockpile of the United States and Russia, should now have the votes needed to overcome a Republican Filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a Cloture motion with hopes of having the bill up for a ratification vote on Wednesday, if at least 60 senators vote for Cloture on Tuesday. "As we move a...

Above Us Only Sky
This bit of snotty stupidity was re-tweeted by progressive Bloggers a couple of days ago, and it encapsulates the cluelessness of many of Harry Reid’s detractors: This is typical of sniping we see from Progressives who don’t understand Cloture and can’t read a map. 82% of Republicans voted for Cloture on the Civil Rights act. And here’s the list of Majority Leaders from Mansfield to today, with current PVIs noted: Mike Mansfield, Montana, ‘61-77 - R+7 Robert...

Dems Prepare Votes on START Treaty
Politico reports: Senate Democrats appear to have enough votes to overcome a Republican Filibuster on the new START arms-control treaty, though it’s unclear if they will have the 67 votes needed for ratification. At least four Republicans have committed to supporting the U.S.-Russia treaty or are leaning that way, including two who say they will vote for Cloture. If Democrats can hold their 58-member Caucus together, that would likely put them at or over the 60-vote threshold required to end...

One Victory And One Loss Today
As I noted earlier, it was a mixed day. The Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” passed with eight Republican Senators joining the Democrats. Unfortunately there weren’t enough votes to get Cloture on a GOP Filibuster on the DREAM Act, with some Democrats joining the Republicans. It is hard to come up with a rational argument against passing the DREAM Act as it only gives a path towards Citizenship to those brought into the country as minors without intending to brea...

Dems Pick Up GOP Votes for START
Politico reports: Senate Democrats appear to have enough votes to overcome a Republican Filibuster on the new START arms-control treaty, though it’s unclear if they will have the 67 votes needed for ratification. At least five Republicans have committed to supporting the U.S.-Russia treaty or are leaning that way, including two who say they will vote for Cloture. If Democrats can hold their 58-member Caucus together, that would likely put them at or over the 60-vote threshold required to end...

Repeal of Dont Ask, Dont Tell Draws Near
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., center, with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., left, and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., speaks at a news conference after the vote to end debate on “don’t ask, don’t tell.” In a signal of sufficient support for final passage, the Senate voted 63-33 to cut off debate (shut down a Filibuster) and head to a final vote on the Military’s Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” anti-gay policy. The bill now faces a sec...

Food-Safety Bill Clears Senate in Wake of Massive Food Recalls
After a year of dozens of dangerous-food incidents, including a single outbreak of Salmonella that led to the recall of more than half a billion eggs, the Senate passed a food-safety bill Sunday night by a unanimous voice vote. The bill will overhaul food-safety standards in the United States for the first time since 1938. In addition to adding 2,000 new food-safety inspectors, it will give the Food and Drug Administration the power for the first time to force a mandatory recall of tainted foods...

Durbin Wants Filibuster 'Ownership'
Ex-Rep. Russo, 12 Employees Out in Cassidy Shake-Up...

Sen. Durbin: Filibuster Is Insufficiently Transparent (VIDEO)
Nisha Chittal | Mediaite ...

Democrats to hold Tuesday vote on START nuclear pact
Stumble This! The Senate was expected to hold a test vote Tuesday on a nuclear Arms Control pact with Russia, even though top Republican lawmakers stiffened their opposition to the accord, saying it needed to be "fixed." Leading Democrats said they believed they had enough votes to ratify the treaty, which would restrict Russia and the United States to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads, a cut of about 30 percent from a previous limit set in 2002. "After months of consideration and five days of op...

Democrats to hold Tuesday vote on START nuclear pact
Graphic on the global Nuclear Weapons stockpile. The new Strategic Arms Red... The Senate was expected to hold a test vote Tuesday on a nuclear Arms Control pact with Russia, even though top Republican lawmakers stiffened their opposition to the accord, saying it needed to be "fixed." Leading Democrats said they believed they had enough votes to ratify the treaty, which would restrict Russia and the United States to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads, a cut of about 30 percent from a previous limi...

Sen Jon Kyle Skeptical About Bill To Help 9/11 First Responders; Says Its Being Rushed Through
Senators Jon Kyle (pictured) and Dick Durbin debated the bill to get Health Care for 9/11 First Responders on Fox News Sunday, with Kyl cautious about the bill, worried that it can’t be amended and that not enough time has been taken to debate it. Senator Jon Kyl told Wallace “It’s a lot of money, so my early response is that I am skeptical about that bill.” Wallace pressed harder, asking “Don’t these heroes deserve to have peace of mind when it comes to health care?

Breaking? Study Finds Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed
To perhaps nobody's surprise, a study released this week finds that Fox News viewers are the most misinformed of any news consumers. The University of Maryland study, called "Misinformation and the 2010 Election," looked at "variations in misinformation by exposure to news sources," among other things, and specifically Newspapers and news magazines (in print and online), network TV news broadcasts, NPR and PBS, FOX News, MSNBC, and CNN. The study found that daily Fox News viewers, regardless...

The 111th Congress, Looking Backward
By Patrick O'Connor The end of the year always yields new lists, and Senate Democrats just published a long one that tallies all the Legislation they approved over the last two years – often without help from Republicans. Everyone remembers the health overhaul, the stimulus and the Dodd-Frank financial-regulation overhaul. And Congress just approved measures repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on Gays in the Military and extended Bush-era Tax Cuts for two more years.

No One Branch Should Have All That Power.
Ezra Klein has a good post up on the relationship between Earmarks and executive power: But the people who are more commonly associated with the fight against Earmarks both hate this White House and want to see more power devolved to the states and to political actors who are directly accountable to the American People. Which is what makes this fight so weird. If you get rid of earmarks, you don't get rid of the money that gets spent on earmarks. It's just that the agencies, rather than the Co...