Senate Democrats

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Mag Names Most Liberal, Conservative Lawmakers

Rankings show ideology trumping Obama's change agenda

(Newser) - National Journal 's rankings of the most liberal and conservative lawmakers confirm that President Obama's first term has had little effect on the partisan atmosphere in Congress. Most members stick to the ideological positions they've staked out for most of their careers, with Sherrod Brown, John Kerry, and Chris...

Scott Brown Changes the Senate Math
Scott Brown Changes the
Senate Math
NATE SILVER
Feb 23, 2010 7:56 AM CST

Scott Brown Changes the Senate Math

Moderate GOP votes up for grabs mean 56 could be Dems' new 60

(Newser) - Yesterday's Senate vote to end debate on the jobs bill showed that losing the supermajority may not be such a disaster for the Democrats after all, writes Nate Silver. Scott Brown joined four other moderate Republicans in voting to end a filibuster on Harry Reid's jobs bill, suggesting that a...

Brown, GOP Moderates Help $15B Jobs Bill Advance
Brown, GOP Moderates Help $15B Jobs Bill Advance
GLIMMER OF BIPARTISANSHIP?
Feb 22, 2010 6:16 PM CST

Brown, GOP Moderates Help $15B Jobs Bill Advance

62-30 vote is victory, however small, for Dems, Obama

(Newser) - A bipartisan jobs bill cleared a GOP filibuster today with crucial momentum provided by the Senate's newest Republican, Scott Brown of Massachusetts. The 62-30 vote to advance the measure to a final vote Wednesday gives both President Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats a much-needed victory—even though the $15 billion...

Tea Partier Wants Wash. Dem Hung
 Tea Partier 
 Wants Wash. 
 Dem Hung 
FRONTIER JUSTICE FOR PATTY MURRAY
Feb 17, 2010 6:45 PM CST

Tea Partier Wants Wash. Dem Hung

Lonesome Dove treatment for Sen. Patty Murray

(Newser) - One woman at a weekend Tea Party gathering in eastern Washington state invoked frontier justice in suggesting how fellow audience members ought to treat Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat seen as vulnerable in November’s elections. “How many of you have watched the movie Lonesome Dove?” asked the woman,...

Md. Dem Mikulski Set to Follow Bayh Out Senate Door
Md. Dem Mikulski Set to Follow Bayh Out Senate Door
PER BLOGOSPHERE
Feb 15, 2010 8:05 PM CST

Md. Dem Mikulski Set to Follow Bayh Out Senate Door

Blogger claims health issues mean retirement

(Newser) - Claiming “an impeccable source,” blogger Rich Vail reports tonight that Democrat Barbara Mikulski will follow Evan Bayh’s lead and not seek re-election to her Maryland Senate seat this fall. Vail, a Tea Party supporter behind blog The Vail Spot , says the 73-year-old Mikulski has been slow to...

Evan Bayh Calls It Quits
 Evan Bayh Calls It Quits 
Feb 15, 2010 10:27 AM CST

Evan Bayh Calls It Quits

Indiana senator says partisan bickering drove him out of politics

(Newser) - Evan Bayh won’t seek reelection, he announced today, saying he was sick of the partisan rancor in Washington. “My decision was not motivated by political concerns,” the Indiana Democrat said in a statement. “Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for...

Hours Later, Reid Kills New Jobs Bill

Says Baucus measure gives too much ground in trying for GOP votes

(Newser) - Just hours after Max Baucus unveiled an $87 billion jobs bill that had the support of two Republicans on his Senate Finance Committee, Majority Leader Harry Reid shot it down, saying the measure bent over backward to score GOP support, and went beyond the goal of creating jobs.

Al Franken Lashes White House Over Health Care Leadership

Takes David Axelrod to task in closed door meeting

(Newser) - Al Franken flipped out at David Axelrod Wednesday, taking him and the administration to task for failing to provide leadership on the health care bill. The outburst came after President Obama urged Senate Democrats to “finish the job,” but didn’t give them any idea how to do...

Dems in Disarray Over Obama's Shift to the Center

Latest proposals on economy provoke grumbling

(Newser) - President Obama's efforts to send a clear message to voters on the economy are being muddied by infighting among Democrats. His plans to freeze federal spending and use TARP funds for small-business lending are meeting resistance from his party on Capitol Hill, while frustrated House Democrats complain that their Senate...

Obama to Democrats: 'We Still Have to Lead'

President reminds senators they still have a big majority

(Newser) - President Obama implored Senate Democrats today to stay aggressive in pushing their agenda despite the loss of one vital seat, saying: "We still have to lead." Speaking to his party's senators at their strategy conference, Obama reminded Democrats they still hold a 59-41 majority. For Democrats searching for...

Tobacco, Oil, Bank Lobbyists Crowd Dem Senators' Retreat

Miami guest list doesn't quite jibe with anti-'fat cat' rhetoric

(Newser) - Lobbyists for some of the industries most often blasted by Democrats—oil, big tobacco, banks—made up a good chunk of the guest list at a Miami retreat featuring a dozen Senate Democrats. A $30,000 contribution to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is typical, reports Politico , which scored a...

Health Reform: It's 1994 All Over Again
 Health Reform: 
 It's 1994 All Over Again 
ANALYSIS
Feb 1, 2010 12:06 PM CST

Health Reform: It's 1994 All Over Again

Parallels to last time comprehensive legislation died are stark

(Newser) - Even a cursory look at Democrats’ activity on health care reform brings back clear memories of their 1994 failure to pass comprehensive legislation. For instance, write Carrie Budoff Brown and Chris Frates, “the same people who spent months arguing that reform had to be jammed through quickly” are now...

Health Reform Could Proceed on Two Tracks

Pelosi: Congress can work on small tweaks, refine broad plan

(Newser) - Reiterating that there’s no House support for passing the Senate’s version of health-care reform, Nancy Pelosi has a two-pronged strategy for moving forward: Congress should go for small, likely-to-pass tweaks to the system now, while continuing work on an overhaul that can get the necessary votes down the...

Boxer, Feingold Oppose Another Bernanke Term
Boxer, Feingold Oppose Another Bernanke Term
UPDATED
Jan 22, 2010 4:15 PM CST

Boxer, Feingold Oppose Another Bernanke Term

Liberal Democrats join rising tide against Fed chair's reappointment

(Newser) - Two Democratic senators said today they won't vote to reappoint Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman. Barbara Boxer and Russell Feingold added to the groundswell of opposition imperiling a second 4-year term for Bernanke, which requires 60 votes. “Our next Federal Reserve chairman must represent a clean break from the...

In Retreat, Obama Weighs Scaled-Back Health Options

Modest coverage, cost reforms now on horizon

(Newser) - President Obama, chastened by the voter revolt that cost the Democrats their 60th vote in the Senate, is ready to seriously pare down health care reform in an effort to salvage at least some of it. "I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those...

Brown Wins Mass. Senate Seat
 Brown Wins Mass. Senate Seat 
UPDATED
Jan 19, 2010 8:39 PM CST

Brown Wins Mass. Senate Seat

Republican upset puts Dems' national agenda at risk

(Newser) - Scott Brown scored an enormous Republican upset today, winning the Massachusetts US Senate seat long held by the late Ted Kennedy by a 52%-47% margin over Democrat Martha Coakley. The loss sunders the Democrats’ filibuster-proof, 60-vote supermajority in the Senate, and throws into doubt the future of health-care reform—along...

Mass. Election Could Seal Fate of Health Reform

Dems' options if Brown wins not looking good

(Newser) - With polls showing the majority of Americans opposed to the Democrats' health care reform bill, a victory for Scott Brown in Massachusetts today could sound the death of the party's yearlong effort at health reform. If Dems try to proceed with the reforms in the wake of a Brown victory,...

Obama to House Dems: Back Cadillac Health Tax

Democrats reluctantly open to compromise

(Newser) - President Obama wants House Democratic leaders to drop their opposition to taxing Cadillac health insurance plans to pay for health coverage for the uninsured, he let them know in a private meeting at the White House yesterday. The health reform bill the House passed raises income taxes on high-income individuals...

Dodd: 'Toughest Political Shape of My Career'

Connecticut senator makes it official: He's retiring

(Newser) - Sen. Chris Dodd, saying he was in "the toughest political shape" of his career, made it official today and announced that he won't run for re-election in November. Speaking outside his home in East Haddam, Conn., Dodd says he's had a tough year. "I lost a beloved sister...

Sen. Ed Schultz? MSNBC Host Says Dems Want Him
Sen. Ed Schultz? MSNBC Host Says Dems Want Him
Dorgan Scramble
Jan 6, 2010 11:19 AM CST

Sen. Ed Schultz? MSNBC Host Says Dems Want Him

Puts his name in play for Dorgan's ND seat

(Newser) - MSNBC host Ed Schultz wasted little time today getting his name in play to replace Byron Dorgan in the Senate. Schultz said prominent North Dakota Democrats have formally asked him to run, but he hasn't decided whether to do so. "I'm flattered. I'm honored. I can't say I'm even...

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