Senate Democrats held a big rally on Capitol Hill today in support of the first piece of the American Jobs Act, the state fiscal aid bill to support teachers and public safety workers. Vice President Biden joined them for the rally. It had a campaign feel to it. Biden urged Senate Republicans to “think hard” [...]

So far, we have one defection on the American Jobs Act, though it isn’t a Democratic defection. Joe Lieberman, the lame duck (emphasis on lame) Senator from the Connnecticut for Lieberman Party, plans to vote no today, because he wants more deficit reduction (the American Jobs Act reduces the deficit). In addition, New Hampshire Democrat [...]

Fox News has an ignorant story today on their website. I’m thinking this won’t particularly surprise you. But here’s something surprising: it’s an ignorant story with news value! The Obama administration has decided to drop the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of the year down to 3,000, marking a major downgrade [...]

I have a piece in the American Prospect today on five turning points in the debt limit fight. I think they’re actually in descending order of importance, and the biggest one is right at the top – this deal is the function of horrible economic stewardship in 2009 and 2010. OBAMA AND DEMOCRATS COULD HAVE [...]

This isn’t so much legislation as it is a wish list in op-ed form from a retiring, disliked Senator. But Joe Lieberman’s attack on Medicare is noteworthy, given the trajectory of his history with Medicare. I’m so old I can remember when Lieberman wanted to expand Medicare. It was in 2009. He endorsed at that [...]

Russ Feingold may be well-positioned to return to the US Senate if he chooses, now that Herb Kohl has retired. A normal politician in that position would not make waves with any party leaders, or take up principled causes where both parties have failed. Feingold is not that normal politician. The Hill reports that he [...]

When the House passed a 10-month extension of key provisions of the Patriot Act last night, it was assumed that the Senate would follow suit quickly. And they will vote on the measure tonight. However, they will narrow the extension to three months, in a move with bipartisan support. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), chair of [...]

What we know for sure is that Joe Lieberman will announce his intentions on 2012 and re-election at an event in Connecticut tomorrow. What we don’t know for sure is what he’ll say, but insiders in Connecticut from both parties think he’ll retire. Republican operative Kevin Rennie: United States Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) is expected [...]

So Joe Lieberman went on MSNBC and publicly stated that the Senate should move Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal first, before the new START treaty, or basically the Senate will run out of time to address both. I believe, instead of going back to the START Treaty, we should go to the independent standalone repeal [...]

Senate leadership has planned a vote on a free-standing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell legislative repeal, unencumbered by the defense authorization bill, to come to the floor sometime in the lame duck session, perhaps next week. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins are co-sponsoring the bill, which will have the same language as what was in the [...]

John Kerry and Joe Lieberman seem to think that there’s space for a “huge energy debate” in 2011. That’s quite funny. What they are realistic about is that whatever bill they’ll try to muster will be fairly modest, and focused in part on renewing energy tax provisions. Actually, some Democrats are trying to include those [...]