Free Republic

C-SPAN 2 is carrying the Senate floor debate live this afternoon.The Democrats control the floor right now. Earlier, Republican Senators Judd Gregg, Kit Bond, Jeff Sessions and David Vitter gave good speeches and dialogues on the budget-busting effects of ObamaCare.Maria Cantwell is speaking now. Mary Landrieu is excpected to speak shortly.The cloture vote is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST tonight.

While 15 states require supermajority votes for tax hikes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only two – California and Arkansas – also require supermajorities for budget approvals. Opponents of California's two-thirds approval requirement contend that the rules hamstring the state's ability to raise revenues in times of need, are the primary cause of new budgets being late virtually every year, and allow a relative handful of lawmakers to wield an inordinate amount of influence over the state's finances. "It is wholly unreasonable for the largest state in the union, with the eighth-largest economy in the world, to...

For Democrats, 60 Senators Is Magic Number for Health Bill CARL HULSE September 16, 2009 WASHINGTON — The unveiling of a compromise health care proposal has Senate Democrats pondering a daunting mathematical challenge: how to keep all 59 Democrats united and attract at least one Republican to pass an overhaul measure. As many lawmakers on Wednesday got their first detailed look at a Finance Committee plan that was months in the making, senators immediately began exploring whether the plan — when combined with elements of another, more liberal one — could win enough senators to reach that magic procedural number...

Democrats in the Senate may have a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority when healthcare reform comes up for a vote, but at least one Democrat is telling party leaders not to count on him to be the 60th vote. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska told The Hill newspaper: "I'm not going to commit anything at this point in time on procedural votes, neither pro nor con, because it will depend on the circumstances. "I can't make those decisions in advance because it depends on what the bill is and what the circumstances are at the time. Otherwise you're just giving away your...

It may be months before Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat is filled, but it took only minutes Wednesday for the chatter to start over possible successors - among them his mourning widow, Victoria. The stakes are high. Kennedy's death now deprives Democrats of the 60-vote "supermajority" that the party could theoretically use to push through health care reform and other top item

Senator Edward Kennedy's death has placed a significant hurdle in front of President Barack Obama's attempts to push sweeping plans for reforming health care through Congress. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, vowed that legislation to insure every American, which Mr Kennedy had described as "the cause of my life", would be achieved. "Ted Kennedy's dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration," she said in a statement. But procedural rules in the Senate mean Mr Kennedy's absence could be crucial when a vote is...

(Disclaimer: The following is simply a brutal Machiavellian political analysis, and is not intended in any way to celebrate another's physical misfortune) Democrats were giddy when Al Franken was declared the winner of the Minnesota Senate race, and for understandably good reason - they finally, but barely, had a filibuster-proof majority in that Body. And so they now press forward with their controversial healthcare legislation, confident that Republicans - and everyone else opposed - can do nothing to stop it. But wait. One of those Senate votes is in serious decline - Sen. Ted Kennedy. Again, speaking in cold-blooded political...

This past spring, Senator Claire McCaskill wrote to me asking for $50 to help elect more Democrats, so we could have a filibuster-proof Senate. Now that Al Franken has finally been declared the sixtieth Democratic senator, her plea may seem moot. But even with Franken in office, we don't have a filibuster-proof Senate. To get to sixty on the Democratic side, we'll still have to cut deals. Maybe we should start sending postcards like the following: "Dear Senator: Why do you keep asking for my money? You've already got the fifty-one votes you need to get rid of the filibuster...

The Secretary of State's office has given the green light to begin gathering signatures for a ballot initiative to lower the vote requirement for passing a state budget or increasing taxes from two-thirds to a three-fifths supermajority. The man behind the initiative, Berkeley-based attorney and editor Robert Denham, says he figures that a three-fifths majority would prevent gridlock over the budget but still be palatable to voters wary of dropping the requirement to a simple majority. "I thought voters are more likely to sign off on something that doesn't make it too easy," said Denham, a Democrat. "That sort of...

California is just one of three states that require supermajority votes to enact state budgets, and while that constitutional provision has been in effect for nearly eight decades, only in the past quarter-century has it become a major political impediment. The state's socioeconomic evolution, term limits, gerrymandered legislative districts, volatility in the state's revenue and the concentration of fiscal power in Sacramento have made the budget process infinitely more complex and, in turn, turned the two-thirds budget vote, once a formality, into a major factor. Much of last month's machinations over overhauling the deficit-ridden budget stemmed from the legal requirement...

Politics: The career of Roland Burris, a political cipher from Illinois who became a U.S. senator and the lamest of ducks, is over. He can now retire into the obscurity he so richly deserves.Having obtained the seat under a cloud of typical Illinois corruption, Burris announced Friday he won't run for a full term in 2010. He was appointed by the former and recently impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich who, among his other accomplishments, tried to auction off the seat formerly held by Barack Obama. Blagojevich was forced out of office and may soon join other Illinois governors who went on...

The comedian Al Franken will be welcomed by fellow Democrats at a lunch on Capitol Hill today after he has been sworn in as senator, taking the party’s Senate vote bank to the magic threshold of 60. His arrival makes the Democrats the first party in three decades to attain the fabled super majority, allowing them – in theory – to override Republican filibusters and implement their legislative agenda. A week after Mr Franken was declared Senator of Minnesota, however, doubts are growing as to how politically useful a super majority will be when the hard bargaining over controversial issues...

Al Franken -- the former comedian who won a bruising, eight-month vote recount and court battle in Minnesota -- arrived on Capitol Hill on Monday, a day before he was to be sworn in as a new Democratic member of the Senate. But Franken immediately downplayed the importance of his vote in the Senate. "A lot has been made of this number 60," Franken said. "The number I'm focused on is the number two.

60 votes not so super for Obama, Senate DemocratsBy: LAURIE KELLMAN The Associated Press July 4, 2009 Congress returns for its midsummer session Monday with a Senate supermajority not super enough for President Barack Obama's top priorities to pass without Republican support. The seating of Minnesota Sen. Al Franken will give Democrats the filibuster-proof 60-40 majority in the Senate, but only on paper. Absences by two ailing senators mean the party can count only 58 votes, and then only if Majority Leader Harry Reid can herd two independents and the independent streaks of 55 others behind Obama's biggest initiatives: expanded...

Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged? Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded defeat in the mother of all recounts in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race after the state's Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit. Arguably, his seat may have been lost the day in 2006 when Democrat Mark Ritchie defeated two-term incumbent Republican Mary Kiffmeyer to become Minnesota secretary of state. It was Ritchie who orchestrated the recount that gave Democratic challenger Franken a lead some...

Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged?Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged? Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded defeat in the mother of all recounts in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race after the state's Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit. Arguably, his seat may have been lost the day in 2006...

As a political writer and blogger, I applaud the decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court that effectively made Alan Stuart Franken the junior senator from Minnesota for the next six years. Of course, it’s not such a good thing for Republicans, considering that the Democrats have added another body to their already huge majority. But Franken in the Senate will pay dividends for both the party and us bloggers far into the future, as long as he remains above ground and has the ability to open his mouth — all the better to stick his foot in it. Al Franken...

Like an oasis in the desert, the 60-vote Democratic supermajority is a mirage. Yes, former comedian Al Franken is now Minnesota's senator-elect -- thanks to the state Supreme Court's ruling Tuesday -- giving Democrats enough members in the Senate to hit a filibuster-proof majority. This is no laughing matter. But that's on a really, really good day. For all intents and purposes, Democrats don't truly have 60 votes in the Senate. With the addition of Franken, they technically have 58. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., caucus with Democrats but don't define themselves that way. Sanders, a socialist,...

Like an oasis in the desert, the 60-vote Democratic supermajority is a mirage. Yes, former comedian Al Franken is now Minnesota's senator-elect -- thanks to the state Supreme Court's ruling Tuesday -- giving Democrats enough members in the Senate to hit a filibuster-proof majority. This is no laughing matter. But that's on a really, really good day. For all intents and purposes, Democrats don't truly have 60 votes in the Senate. With the addition of Franken, they technically have 58. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., caucus with Democrats but don't define themselves that way. Sanders, a socialist,...

Not a whole lot to be happy about with this win by Franken but at least now they own everything. They have a filibuster proof Senate. Either everything they have whined about for the last eight years gets fixed or they are outright liars. Scott said it best in the comments: DEMS OWN IT NOW. What’s it? IT is EVERYTHING. 2010 midterms: if unemployment is still worse than when Obama took office, it’s their faultif GDP is still falling it’s Democrats’ faultif every American-EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN and most illegal aliens-don’t have the same high-quality/free medical coverage as Barack Obama…it’s their...

Exhibit A in why it is in fact possible to have too big of a majority: Once you hit 60, the cranks on your side demand results. The nutroots will be watching cap-and-trade and amnesty and health care and maybe even a second stimulus verrrrrry carefully, Harry. As will we, as will we. Note what constitutes “fair and balanced” on Ed Schultz’s show. Kos and Bill Press.

Franken Declared Winner of Minnesota Senate Election, Giving Dems Filibuster-Proof Majority After the Minnesota high court rejects a legal challenge from Norm Coleman, the Republican concedes to Democrat Al Franken in the state's Senate race. Democrat Al Franken, right, with his wife Frannie Franken smile as they meet the media at their house in MInneapolis Tuesday June 30, 2009 after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Democrat in the Senate race against Republican Norm Coleman. (AP) Democrat Al Franken as the winner of the state's vacant Senate seat after the state's high court ruled that Republican challenger...

Minnesota Court Confirms Razor-Thin Election Win, but Party's Filibuster-Proof Majority Is Vulnerable to Internal Fissures. WASHINGTON -- The Minnesota Supreme Court cleared the way for Democrat Al Franken to become Minnesota's new U.S. senator, ending a festering eight-month election dispute and giving the Democrats a 60-seat voting majority in the Senate. The court on Tuesday unanimously upheld Mr. Franken's margin of 312 votes out of 2.9 million cast in November's election, giving him the seat that had been held for one term by Republican Norm Coleman. Mr. Coleman conceded at a news conference at his home two hours later, saying...

There is absolutely nothing to stops a single party from turning this country upside-down. Nothing. If we have any patriots in the Dim side at all, they must be getting worried. Can you imagine the pressure that will be put on them? This is going to get interesting very quickly because if radical changes are to be made, then it must be before an election.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats are urging Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to certify Democrat Al Franken's election to the Senate following the state Supreme Court's ruling that the former Saturday Night Live comedian defeated GOP incumbent Norm Coleman.

In a 15-minute news conference, looking relaxed and upbeat, Norm Coleman congratulated Al Franken, reminisced about his 6-year term and the "longest election in Minnesota history" and didn't discuss the details of the rejected legal challenge. "We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state," Coleman said. "I congratulate Al Franken in his victory in his election." "The bottom line is that's history. I'm not looking back… We are a nation of laws, not men and women. The court has spoken.".... Moments later, Gov. Tim Pawlenty's office issued the following statement: "The Minnesota Supreme Court...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -Republican Norm Coleman conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota's contested Senate race on Tuesday, ending a nearly eight-month recount and court fight over an election decided by only a few hundred votes. Coleman announced his decision at a news conference in St. Paul hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Franken, a former "Saturday Night Live" comedian and liberal commentator, should be certified the winner. "The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home. Coleman, appearing relaxed and upbeat, said he...

By large margins, California voters want to retain the two-thirds legislative vote requirement for budgets and the state's initiative system that allows voters to pass laws, according to a new attitudinal survey conducted by students at the University of California, Riverside. Voters also oppose layoff of teachers to narrow the state's budget deficit, and blame the Legislature, more than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for the state's chronic fiscal difficulties. . . . The two-thirds budget vote, which has been in the state constitution in one form or another for most of the last century, has become a point of partisan contention...

Conservatives can sputter endlessly that Sonia Sotomayor is a lefty judicial activist. Privately, they glumly recognize the political reality - she's a slam dunk for confirmation. Republican leaders also understand - most of them, at least - that Sotomayor's nomination is also a savvy political move by President Obama that puts the GOP in an electoral bind. At heart, this appointment reminds that as a President who has already made history, Obama is intent on making more. Elections, as the old adage goes, have consequences. Yet Supreme Court nominations are never just about the law. Politics is always a centerpiece...

Pelosi: now we don't have to 'explain process' @ 7:44 pm by Eric Zimmermann Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to switch parties will make it easier for Democrats to move forward with their agenda, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday. Specter's switch will give Democrats 60 caucus members in the Senate (assuming Al Franken wins his legal battle in Minnesota). That is enough votes to end debate on a bill and overcome Republican filibusters. "Very exciting, very exciting for the American people, because now we can get things done without explaining process," Pelosi told CNN's Candy Crowley. Specter has said that...

I always try to look for a silver lining on a cloud. I try to see both sides of the coin, and to be positive. That's a lot harder today, BUT it is not impossible! Senator Specter is switching from a Republican to a Democrat, and this gives the Democratic Party absolute power in Washington DC. They now have full control of the White House and both Houses of Congress as well as a filibuster-proof majority. That means they can pass and do anything they want, and no one can stop them except themselves. Therein lies the silver lining. It's...

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.)

The man in charge of electing more Republicans to the Senate said it will be difficult to stop the Democrats from winning a 60-seat majority in 2010. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the new head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), knows he has a difficult road ahead of him. “That’s going to be real hard, to be honest with you,” Cornyn said of keeping Democrats from reaching 60 seats, adding: “Everybody who runs could be the potential tipping point to get Democrats to 60. We’ve not only got to play defense; we’ve got to claw our way back in...

Last night, by a single vote, Senate Republicans barely blocked the passage of the pork-laden $410 billion omnibus spending bill. Late in the evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged that with 59 votes, he was just one short of the 60 he needed, and the massive spending bill was shelved for the weekend. While the temporary stalling of the bloated bill is good news for the American people, it also illustrates the incredible importance of the 60-vote threshold in the United States Senate. Right now, Democrats stand on the brink of the magical 60th number, with 58 reliable Democrat...

Suddenly, Al Franken represents more than just an empty seat in the Senate chamber. Franken could have been the critical 60th vote on the stalled $410 billion omnibus Thursday night. He’d be a likely yes on President Barack Obama’s ambitious budget. A Sen. Al Franken would be reliable Democratic vote on health care, tax increases on the rich, global warming legislation and virtually any other issue in which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finds himself hunting for a couple Republican votes. With the Minnesota Senate seat in limbo for the foreseeable future, it means Reid will have to turn...

New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg “would never allow his seat to go to a Democrat,” says a Republican close to President Obama’s presumptive pick for Commerce Secretary. “The only way he would allow it is if he died.” Buzz today is that if Gregg took the gig, his replacement would share parties with New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat. (If Al Franken is deemed the winner here in Minnesota, the Dems would then secure a veto filibuster-proof majority.) But The Hill now reports that Republicans are saying Gregg will only take the job if he’s guaranteed that the seat...

Not on web site yet. Just heard on Fox News that Judd Gregg (R-NH) is nominee for Commerce Sec. That would tip the senate wouoldn't it?

This week Senator Saxby Chambliss won a runoff vote in Georgia. It’s possible you missed this... Above all, you have to love the fact that as things stand, the nexus of power will lie in the Republican moderate caucus, consisting entirely of the two senators from Maine, the Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. “And Senator Specter,” corrected Snowe.... But I like thinking of next year’s senate as a kind of mythic quest movie in which a Democratic hero in need of a stimulus package or a Supreme Court confirmation is told: “Go forth and seeketh the Women of Maine,”...

- December 2, 2008 9:03 PM ET ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss has won re-election in a runoff, dashing Democratic hopes of capturing enough Senate seats to thwart Republican filibusters. Chambliss, who fell just short of the majority vote needed to win re-election in November, prevailed in a one-on-one rematch with Democrat Jim Martin.

It is a must that Saxby pulls it out tommorrow. If the Democrats get to 59 with a there is a decent chance they will just install Al Franken as Senator and know their is nothing that anyone can do to stop them for 2 years. It is important if you don't live there to call everyone you know there. Or if you can influence other people who have friends or family there ask them if they can do the same, turnout is critical in this race.

First-term Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss holds a 52 percent to 46 percent lead over Democratic challenger James Martin), a former state representative, in their Dec. 2 runoff battle, according to a Research 2000 survey conducted Nov. 23-25. Two percent are undecided and the margin of error is 4 points. Research 2000 makes the same observation that Public Policy Polling did in its Nov. 22-23 poll: that Chambliss has been able to widen his lead because, this time around, Barack Obama is not on the ballot to lure a larger turnout. PPP had Chambliss leading Martin 53 percent to 41 percent....

At first, it looked like Senate Republicans had dodged a total disaster on Nov. 4. When they awoke on Nov. 5, they had lost only five seats for certain – Colorado, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Virginia. Not a good showing by any measure, but not a total rout either. Things have been going downhill since. Instead of a narrow win in Oregon for Senator Gordon Smith, he lost to Jeff Merkley. Mr. Chambliss was denied an outright victory in Georgia, forcing a runoff. Mr. Coleman’s slight lead prompted the ongoing statewide recount. Then, Senate Democrats made peace...

For Senate Democrats, 60 seats still a possibilityPosted: Nov 14, 2008 09:50 AM EST By Glenn Thrush and Josh Kraushaar The dream of 60 Senate seats simply refuses to die - with positive signs suddenly popping up for Democrats in all three unresolved races. Around 1 a.m. EST, news that Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has inched ahead of Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens rekindled flagging Democratic hopes they would reach the mythical filibuster-proof majority. In Minnesota, Al Franken has steadily eroded incumbent Republican Norm Coleman's lead before the recount has even begun - with a highly contentious recount on the...

With news that Democratic candidate Mark Begich has taken the lead from incumbent GOP Senator Ted Stevens in Alaska's Senate race, Republicans are beginning to visualize a nightmare scenario in which Democrats actually reach the goal of 60 Senate seats that would allow them to stop any GOP filibuster. The scenario runs like this: First, Republicans lose the Alaska seat. At least 15,000 provisional ballots and an estimated 20,000 mailed absentee ballots remain to be counted. Ominously for Republicans, Mr. Begich now holds an 814-vote lead after some 50,000 absentee ballots were counted this week. The race could remain undecided...

With news that Democratic candidate Mark Begich has taken the lead from incumbent GOP Senator Ted Stevens in Alaska's Senate race, Republicans are beginning to visualize a nightmare scenario in which Democrats actually reach the goal of 60 Senate seats that would allow them to stop any GOP filibuster.

On top of everything else, we don't need a filibuster-proof supermajority, controlled by Dems, in the U.S. Senate. If that happens, there won't be anybody to filibuster on limiting abortion (including forcing pro-life doctors to perform abortions), stopping the so-called "Fair"ness Doctrine, fighting against higher taxes, etc.. In Georgia, conservative Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss is in a runoff on Dec. 2. They're still counting votes in Alaska and Minnesota, and in Minnesota they keep "finding" absentee ballots.

KETTERING, Ohio – John McCain launched an aggressive attack against Barack Obama on Monday, hoping to remind voters of the GOP’s economic brand after a month of unprecedented government intervention in the financial markets. “This election comes down to how you want your hard-earned money spent,” McCain said to a small audience at the Renaissance hotel in downtown Cleveland. “Do you want to keep it and invest it in your future, or have it taken by the most liberal person to ever run for the Presidency, and the Democratic leaders who have been running Congress for the past two years...

It has become very obvious over the last month or two that Barack Obama is on the verge of a monumental landslide, and the Democrats in Congress are poised to push the envelope on supermajorities as well. We are looking at a one party state, and not only that - its one that has been thirsting for power and will have a great deal of it in January. Because of this reality, I think it is more than appropriate that we consider what has happened in the past when one party has taken over control of all levels of government....

In California, income or sales taxes have not been raised this year to close the budget deficit because Republican opposition prevented such measures from gaining the needed 2/3 majority. This should be a reminder of the need for such a supermajority requirement at the Federal level, the same as needed to ratify treaties. The Republican party platform http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/GovernmentReform.htm#2 says "Because the problem is too much spending, not too few taxes, we support a supermajority requirement in both the House and Senate to guard against tax hikes." (Of course, when we had a Republican president and Congress, spending was unrestrained.) I...

Honest and independent district line-drawing would divest both Democrats and Republicans of sure-thing districts in which elections are virtually over in the primary. More districts would be up for grabs, meaning that any Democrat hoping to win the election would have to have a message, and a track record, that Republican residents could accept. Any Republican would need Democratic voters to have a realistic shot. Lawmakers would stop playing to their extremist bases and appeal to more moderate voters in both parties.