Parliamentary procedure

Yesterday, Senate Democrats made a deal to preserve the filibuster in order to avoid the dreaded “nuclear option,” which would have allowed a simple majority to change Senate rules. In exchange, Senate Republicans agreed to move ahead on nominations made by the Obama administration. Republicans had been using the filibuster to block key nomination hearings […]

Around midnight last night, the Texas Senate shutdown Senator Wendy Davis’s (D-Fort Worth)  nearly 11 hour filibuster meant to prevent the passage of Senate Bill 5, a restrictive abortion law. The Republican sponsored bill is one of the toughest in the country. It would prevent abortions after 20 weeks and force the closure of all but […]

With a vote of 68 to 31, the Senate overcame the threat of a filibuster to begin a debate on gun control yesterday. Debate will begin next week, but the future of this legislation is uncertain. Tom Diaz, policy analyst for the Violence Policy Center and the author of “The Last Gun,” explores the possibilities […]

If we’re to believe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both sides of the Senate are coming together as they strike a deal on filibuster reform. It’s not much, as critics are pointing out. This follows a glimmer of increased bipartisanship related to immigration reform which we also talked about on today’s show. But it sounds […]