It's what we've noted for awhile: it's Richard Cordray or fight.
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/05/for-harry-reid-and-filibuster-reform.html
Reid made it real clear today that this is where it's going. The GOP has to stop it's record breaking obstruction or he will go nuclear. Good job Harry.
It's been argued by Ezra Klein and others that it's not clear whether Reid really wants to go all the way here or just compel GOP to accept Obama's current executive level nominations. Either way I like what he's saying.
"There are two theories of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s threat to go nuclear and limit or even eliminate filibusters against executive-branch nominees."
"McConnell, clearly worked up over Reid’s speech, responded on the floor shortly after and vowed that Democrats will “live to regret it” if they follow through with the threat to change the rules of the Senate with a bare majority of votes. He called the accusations of obstruction an “absolutely phony, manufactured crisis,” and conceded that McCarthy and Perez “already have enough votes to clear a 60-vote hurdle.”
I haven't loved Harry this long since he talked about Romney's business partner and how Romney may have not paid any taxes a few years.
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/05/for-harry-reid-and-filibuster-reform.html
Reid made it real clear today that this is where it's going. The GOP has to stop it's record breaking obstruction or he will go nuclear. Good job Harry.
It's been argued by Ezra Klein and others that it's not clear whether Reid really wants to go all the way here or just compel GOP to accept Obama's current executive level nominations. Either way I like what he's saying.
"There are two theories of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s threat to go nuclear and limit or even eliminate filibusters against executive-branch nominees."
"One is that Reid is serious. He’s fed up. He feels betrayed by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s continued obstruction. “I think he would really do it,” says a top Republican Senate aide. “He is not known for his even temper and long view of the repercussions of his actions.”
"The other is that this is all a dance between Reid and McConnell — and they both know it. “I think McConnell and Reid look each other in the eye and know the game,” says a Democratic aide. “I think they know this help gets McConnell where McConnell needs to go in a way his caucus can handle.”
"Senate insiders say that this particular fight is really about a handful of nominations: Secretary of Labor, members of the National Labor Relations Board, and head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. These are the nominations organized labor cares about more than any other. They’re also nominations Republicans have proven particularly committed to blocking."
"So Reid and McConnell are at an impasse. Reid can’t just sit back and permit the Republicans to block these nominees. The unions would howl. But McConnell can’t just give up. He’d be tarred and feathered."
"Adding the nuclear option into the mix makes the debate about something else: The ability of the Republicans — and any minority — to block future nominees. If Reid can credibly threaten the nuclear option, and McConnell can credibly defuse it by letting some of the nominees slip through, perhaps both men can get out of this one."
Whether or not this is what the game is about, Reid has set things up well in a way that encourages the GOP to allow these nominations to be confirmed.
An important moment on the Senate floor just now: Harry Reid said he would be filing cloture today on a whole bunch of executive nominations, and challenged Republicans to act on them — a major escalation of the threat to change the Senate rules by simple majority, i.e, the “nuclear option.”
“We’re going to file cloture on a bunch of nominations, and those votes will occur next week when we schedule them,” Reid said, adding later that if no movement occurred on them, “we know what’s going to happen.”
"According to a senior Senate Democratic aide, this means that Reid will file cloture on the following nominations today: Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Gina McCarthy as head of the Environmental Protection Agency; Obama’s picks to the National Labor Relations Board; and possibly Thomas Perez as Labor Secretary."
McConnell, grouses that if Reid were to push through this rule change he would be one of the 'worst Senate leaders ever.' I think we can safely discount this judgement by factoring in the source. I mean can McConnell say this with a straight face?"McConnell, clearly worked up over Reid’s speech, responded on the floor shortly after and vowed that Democrats will “live to regret it” if they follow through with the threat to change the rules of the Senate with a bare majority of votes. He called the accusations of obstruction an “absolutely phony, manufactured crisis,” and conceded that McCarthy and Perez “already have enough votes to clear a 60-vote hurdle.”
“Senate Democrats are getting ready to do permanent damage to this body,” McConnell warned, and made a morbid reference regarding Reid. “No majority leader wants written on his tombstone that he presided over the end of the Senate.”
Permanent harm to the Senate?! What has Senator McConnell being doing to it the last 4 years? We have record numbers of filibusters and even the most routine Senate business can't get passed. This is a legacy worth saving? The sad truth is much of the Senate protocol that Senators get so misty-eyed about-their supposed 'most august of institutions' is really a very sordid legacy. I mean a Senate rule for the longest time was each slave was 3/5 of a man and the citizens of the states couldn't select their own Senators. Even now the allocation of 2 Senators per state regardless of either area or population is a sharply undemocratic Senate tradition.
For the most part isn't the filibuster just one more part of this sordid tradition of rules meant to allow the minority to rule at the expense of the majority?
Does Senator McConnell think that his record number of filibusters is going to look anything but shameful on his tombstone for Senate Minority Leaders?
Meanwhile, Harry pushes ahead.
"Reid filed cloture on a bloc of seven Obama nominees on Thursday afternoon, setting the stage for a potential vote on invoking the nuclear option on Tuesday. If Republicans continue to filibuster any or all of those presidential selections, the Nevada Democrat will force through his proposed rules change, he told reporters."
"Reid’s nuclear option comes in two parts. It would require a simple majority to change Senate rules, rather than the 67 now needed. And it would mean that a filibuster on an executive-branch nominees could be ended with only 51 votes, rather than the 60-vote threshold now in place."
"McConnell made a counter-offer of allowing votes on some nominees, excluding those that Obama used recess appointments to put in place. It was not enough for Reid, who objected, continuing the Senate down the path toward a rule change by majority vote. But the full Senate plans to meet on Monday at 6 p.m. in the old Senate chamber, though McConnell questioned Democratic attendance at the Monday meeting. But Reid said his members will be there but it’s unlikely to resolve the gap between the two parties."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/harry-reid-mitch-mcconnell-nominations-94013.html#ixzz2YmPqaLmJ
Reid insists that a vote must be had on Richard Cordray for the CFPB-'Richard Cordray or Fight' and that he does have the 51 votes for the nuclear option if necessary.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/harry-reid-mitch-mcconnell-nominations-94013.html#ixzz2YmPqaLmJ
Reid insists that a vote must be had on Richard Cordray for the CFPB-'Richard Cordray or Fight' and that he does have the 51 votes for the nuclear option if necessary.
"Following a 75-minute closed-door session with his Democratic colleagues, Reid signaled that he was ready to proceed with the nuclear option if the GOP didn’t drop its objections to the Obama nominees, especially those for the National Labor Relations Board and Consumer Financial Protection Board.
“A couple people don’t like changing the rules, [but] we have the votes to move forward on this,” Reid told reporters following the Democratic Caucus meeting."
Don't get me wrong, I always love Harry Reid. But that was a high water mark. This is another one.
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