President Obama rarely registers much more than 50 percent approval, he’s having trouble selling his message, and Americans continue to suffer under the weight of the nation’s economic problems. So what can the president do to help improve his standing among Democratic voters? Well, for one thing, he could More…
For the past few weeks, House liberals have been urging Democratic leaders in the Senate to bring up the public insurance option via the budget reconciliation process, which would sidestep the filibuster and allow a simple majority-wins vote on the contentious public plan. Now some senators More…
Nine Democratic senators sent a letter to President Obama this morning laying out ten conditions that will allow them to support domestic and international climate deals. The senators, who all hail from manufacturing of fossil fuel-dependent states, are mostly moderates, and their votes will be crucial to passing a More…
In the wake of Saturday’s Senate vote to take up the chamber’s health reform legislation, the focus of the debate has shifted back to the public option, over which no fewer than four Democratic caucus members — Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and More…
With abortion now topic-of-the-moment amid the health reform debate, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) weighed in last night with a prediction certain to please women’s rights groups: Republicans, the Ohio Democrat said, won’t be able to rally even 50 votes — let alone the 60 they’ll need — to More…
The push is on to dilute the climate change bills moving through Congress, and it’s not coming only from conservatives. Mother Jones’ Kate Sheppard reports today that 14 Senate Democrats are urging their leadership to amend the proposal to grant more free polluting permits to the coal-burning utilities More…
Moments ago, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) took to the chamber floor with a strange claim about the urgency surrounding legislation to extend unemployment insurance.
“The benefits haven’t run out yet,” Kyl said. “We’re going to pass this before the benefits run out.”
It’s tough to decipher exactly what More…
He’s been threatening to do it for weeks, and today Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) made good on his vow to push legislation reining in the overdraft charges that hit consumers who exceed their balances when making debit card purchases. Those fees — which average upwards of More…
Turns out, quite a lot of money.
We mentioned here last week that no fewer than 30 Senate Democrats are urging chamber leaders to include a public insurance option as part of the sweeping health reform bill to be weaved from separate proposals drafted by the More…
As the Senate awaits the cap-and-trade bill expected to be released sometime before the end of September, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is looking for ways to get more incentives for manufacturing and clean-energy technology in the bill that might help sweeten the deal for Midwest Democrats.
Brown has already introduced More…
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