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12 Jul 2010 22:46

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Politics: Just like health care, Ben Nelson is holding up financial reform

  • 56 number of Democratic senators who will vote for the final financial reform bill for sure
  • three number of Republican senators who will probably vote for the bill (including Scott Brown)
  • one number of Democrats named Ben Nelson who (once again) will make things tough source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2010 10:36

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Politics: Unemployment benefits: Robert Byrd’s death held this up, too

  • what The Senate’s attempt to increase unemployment benefits failed to pass yet again last night.
  • why They didn’t have 60 votes to stop the filibuster; they had 59. The 60th would’ve been Byrd. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

27 Jun 2010 21:49

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Politics: Max Headroom: Blame Robert Bork for Elena Kagan’s problems


  • “Conceivable”? Really? Elena Kagan is like a puppy dog with wide eyes and a lovable smile. Yet, Sen. Jeff Sessions seems to think there might be a chance she gets filibustered. Really? Are we talking about the same Elena Kagan?

  • Blame Robert Bork Why is Kagan’s hearing so seemingly controversial? Because Robert Bork, the Reagan Supreme Court nominee, created an air of contention that every high court nominee’s hearing has had ever since.

  • One woman to anotherLate last month, Sandra Day O’Connor, who went through a painful confirmation herself, told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the process is tough for everyone, but she thought Kagan would make it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jun 2010 20:36

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U.S.: Obama can’t even get the Democrats behind a new stimulus bill

  • 45 senators voted for the bill – not even a majority source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2010 20:28

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U.S.: The Senate’s in the mushy, bile-like stage of financial reform

  • no The financial reform bill wasn’t able to pass through the wall of filibuster to end debate.
  • no Arlen Specter wasn’t one of the 57 yes votes; he’s still sulking back in Pennslyvania.
  • yes Experts expect the bill to pass eventually after a little more debating back and forth. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Feb 2010 10:27

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Politics: Like filibusters? Don’t? They’re not going away anytime soon.

  • Republicans are gambling they can convince the American people Democrats can’t get much done, and at the moment, their gamble is paying off.
  • Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey • Regarding the Republican’s strategy to filibuster the Democrats’ agenda so that it helps them in the next election. The filibuster has significantly changed in usage since the days of civil rights, and is now routinely used as a political stalling tactic. We just want to make a point here: While the GOP’s filibuster usage is inexcusable, the Democrats did the exact same thing to get a majority in the Senate in 2006. In fact, they did it at a faster clip. While the rule really needs to be changed on a fundamental level, it’s not going to happen easily: It requires 67 votes to make a change like that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Dec 2009 18:53

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Politics: Joe Lieberman is a Jewish playa for walking to work today

  • 5 mile walk to stop a filibuster; he doesn’t drive on the Shabbat source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Dec 2009 23:34

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U.S.: Ben just got Bernanke’d by Bernie Sanders. Ouch.

  • bernanke1202
  • Yeah … Our boy’s gonna have trouble getting a second term. Ben Bernanke’s first term as Federal Reserve chair was marked by a whole bunch of crazy bank failures, financial market distress, bailouts, and pissed-off tea partiers who probably want to hurt him. On the eve of a second confirmation hearing, one independent senator has said “enough.” Bernie Sanders plans to put a hold on Bernanke’s nomination, which means he might be able to filibuster easily. He’s pretty much screwed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Nov 2009 21:10

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Politics: Senate Democrats break a filibuster over a judicial candidate

  • Now if only they can do this with the health care bill. The Democrats have a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate, but you wouldn’t know it by the way that Indiana Judge David Hamilton’s nomination to a federal appeals court has languished. Eight months after he was first nominated (and four months after he cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee), a filibuster blocking a vote on Hamilton was finally broken today. We look forward to how the Democrats handle the health care bill. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Oct 2009 22:12

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U.S.: Obama can’t get his federal judges in; is it because he’s not trying?

  • 90 federal judges, or 10% of the total judge posts, are needed; caseloads are starting to back up
  • three of Obama’s 23 appointees have been approved, mainly because they’re not being fought for source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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