Kill the Filibuster or Block Everything

The silent filibuster was the bane of the liberal existence during the first two years of the Obama administration. 

Many expected that a Democratic landslide in 2008 would lead to federal action on a whole host of progressive priorities. While those two years did see an economic stimulus, health care reform, and financial regulation, all three required contentious partisan fights and huge expenditures of political capital. Legislation to address climate change, empower unions, and reform the immigration system was blocked altogether.

Reflections on the Bloodbath

The left is disturbingly familiar with failure. As the returns began to come in on Tuesday night and it became clear that Democrats would lose almost every major contested race, I knew immediately it would be one of those elections. The next month would be spent talking about why we lost, why we failed.

And there is no need to sugarcoat. It was a disaster. Democrats lost control of the Senate, lost more than a dozen House seats (at least), and lost every high-profile gubernatorial race and more. Come January, Republicans will govern Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois, which are traditionally among the bluest states in the country.

Midterms Stuff

I wrote something for the AU College Democrats blog about the midterm elections. With Democrats looking likely to have a tough night, I pointed out that it's worth focusing on the impact those elected tonight will have not just in the next Congress, but during the next presidential term, when policy change is more likely. For that reason, I think the elections in Colorado and Iowa are especially important.

As far as predictions, machines much smarter than me have you covered, but here are the fruits of playing out around with interactive tools for 20 minutes.

The Good Wife

I wrote about the Season 6 premiere of The Good Wife, a show I quite like, for the pop culture/entertainment blog of The Eagle. You can read it here.

Electoral Reform and a Democratic House

Nate Cohn detailed on Sunday the structural disadvantages Democrats face in winning back the House of Representatives in November. Republicans are all but certain not just to retain the House but expand their majority in contrast to the competitive Senate.

That Democrats will likely struggle in 2014 is not atypical. Historically the president’s party struggles in midterm elections. But the current composition of the Democratic coalition is such that it is uniquely unsuited to success in the House. Cohn explains:

On Impeachment

Why is everyone suddenly talking about impeachment?

The idea of impeaching President Obama is deeply unpopular with the American people. Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has dismissed the possibility, calling it “a scam started by Democrats at the White House.”

Indeed Democrats have been mentioning impeachment quite a bit themselves. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has gone into into overdrive with fundraising e-mails raising the specter of impeachment. It is transparently using fear to motivate the party’s base to contribute (*).

The Underrated Piper Chapman

Jenji Kohan, the creator of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, has spoken in interviews about how main character Piper Chapman is in some senses a “Trojan horse.”

“You're not going to go into a network and sell a show on really fascinating tales of black women, and Latina women, and old women and criminals,” Kohan told Terry Gross on Fresh Air. “But if you take this white girl, this sort of fish out of water, and you follow her in, you can then expand your world and tell all of those other stories.”

(minor spoilers below)

The Premature Victory Brigade

Like most political observers, I was shocked by the news last night that Majority Leader Eric Cantor had lost the Republican primary for his Virginia 7th district house seat to David Brat, a complete unkown. It was an extremely unexpected result and immediately resulted in jockeying on Capitol Hill to replace Cantor in the Republican leadership.

There are many others far more well versed in conservative circles and right-wing politics who can explain the dynamics that led to his defeat and what the fallout will be.

What I do want to talk about is the strange way that Democrats are interpreting and overreacting to this, as they typically do to instances of Republican infighting.

Not Ready for Hillary

More than eighteen months before the Iowa caucuses, the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination seems to be all but a foregone conclusion. 

Hillary Clinton is widely considered to be the de facto nominee, though she has not yet said she will run. Almost all of the early polls show her ahead by staggering margins and key figures within the Democratic Party are already publicly supporting her. While this is purely anecdotal, “Ready for Hillary” bumper stickers (advertising the Super PAC preemptively launched to support her candidacy) seem increasingly ubiquitous.

Bullet Points: Mad Men -- "Waterloo"

Disconnected, spoilery thoughts on the Mad Men mid-season 7 finale...