David Waldman has a thorough rundown of the series of six votes (1 down, 5 to go) necessary to pass health care reform in the Senate, along with the other procedural maneuvers. It’s worth reading in full, but here’s one of his conclusions: If nothing else, this week will be a useful demonstration of just [...]

Frustrated by the lack of action in Washington after a mandate for change in 2008, liberals and Democrats inside and outside of government have begun to question the Senate filibuster rule, which they attribute to the growing legislative paralysis. The filibuster (the Dutch word for “pirate”), the process by which Senators can endlessly continue debate [...]

Marcy Wheeler is liveblogging the Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing with Attorney General Holder. I just wanted to point out a few interesting pieces that I’ve seen. • Much of the hearing is concerned with the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and some co-defendants in federal criminal court in New York rather than through [...]

James Inhofe (R-OK) appeared briefly today at a climate bill markup in the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, simply to drop off a letter with a series of Republican demands on how to move forward on the bill. The letter basically asks the EPA for a “full assessment” of the Senate bill, including modeling [...]