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Category Archives: Politics

Filibuster-take three

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

My first few years as a lawyer were spent defending evictions, a fast moving process. In those days the trick was to delay cases until the client could move, because the Circuit Court judges were almost uniformly hostile to tenants. They would uphold an argument centered on some arcane procedural point, but when it came […]

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Filibuster-take two

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Okay, I’m beginning to see less and less point to the Reid filibuster, which truly does seem to put the onus on the Democrats to keep talking, for thirty hours, after which they stop and presumably move on to other business. Is there some way during that time period that they can move the matter […]

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Rudy heading for a fall

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Via Talking Points Memo, we learn that Giuliani’s trend lines look eerily like McCain’s, indicating that Rudy may be riding for a fall reminiscent of Mr. Straight Talk. Since early March, Giuliani’s support has fallen by an estimated 8 percentage points. McCain’s fell by 10 points since January. And the rate of decline has been […]

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Senators to lose sleep

Monday, July 16, 2007

Some time ago I suggested that the Democrats call the Republicans bluff and make them stand and deliver on their filibuster threats. It looks like Harry Reid has taken exactly that step. Forcing his Republican colleagues to put up or shut up on the notion of an up-or-down vote, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) […]

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The Devil defers to a better man

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Seen on a bumper on our way to Newport yesterday:

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The Democrats learn the obvious

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

There are some things so obvious that one wonders why they need to be said, but in fact they do. An academic has given the Democrats some much needed advice, echoing what a lot of us unwashed have been saying for years: This year, among Democrats, one such contender is Drew Westen, a professor of […]

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How are we doing?

Friday, July 6, 2007

Today I consulted my Library of America volume of James Madison’s writings, looking for one thing, and chanced upon something else, that I thought I’d pass on. As any student of American history knows, the revolutionary generation, an intensely partisan bunch, nonetheless had a fear of parties, which they sometimes called factions. They were concerned […]

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Republicans filibuster, Democrats quail

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

There is a very interesting diary entry today on Daily Kos about the fact that the Republicans are “filibustering” a bill that has already passed, namely the bill adopting the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Different versions of the bill have passed each house, and the Republicans are now threatening to filibuster the normally routine […]

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