First he talks down a health care mob, and now? He draws a US map. From memory. I had my doubts about Franken, but those are evaporating now. ...read more

What a mistake this guy is. Q: How will U.S. Sen. (Edward) Kennedy's death affect things? A: I think it's going to help us. He hasn't been around for some time. We're going to have a new chairman of that committee, it'll be, I don't know for sure, but I think Sen. (Chris) Dodd ...read more

Words indicate that the very flaccid majority "leader" is not down with the public option. Again I ask, why bother with a majority if this is what we get? ...read more

Signs of hope and change in America. Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan ...read more

A few years ago, when my beloved Washington Redskins were having one of their craptacular seasons, an article quoted a player from one of the teams who had played against the Redskins about what exactly was allowing so many teams to win. The player noted that while the Redskins ...read more

I was going to write something like this the other day but someone else already did. Schumer is progressive, aggressive, has no fear of losing his seat to a wingnut, and knows how to operate in the media. In other words, the exact opposite of Harry Reid. ...read more

Looks like President Obama, and some senate Dems, are finally getting it. 'Sometime in September we're going to have to make an assessment' about whether to keep trying to negotiate with Republicans, he told MSNBC. Obama said he 'would prefer Republicans working with us' but ...read more

Harry Reid is such a failure. Everything about him reads concede, retry, and fold. Who knew I would be longing for the comparatively bold leadership of Tom Daschle? And compared to strong Senate leaders of the past like LBJ? Reid will be lucky to win his seat back. At least then ...read more

Thankfully Harry Reid can't likely screw this one up. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 13 to 6, on Tuesday to endorse the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, easing her path to likely confirmation as the first Hispanic member of the tribunal. ...read more

Baucus to uninsured Americans: suck it up, losers. After weeks of secretive talks, a bipartisan group in the Senate edged closer Monday to a health care compromise that omits a requirement for businesses to offer coverage to their workers and lacks a government insurance option ...read more

Rep. Chris Van Hollen: 'What concerns me about what's happened in the Senate Finance Committee is that they've had a whole lot of time to work these things out, and just don't seem to be able to break the impasse,' Van Hollen said in an interview on the liberal Bill Press Radio ...read more

That is the number for Sen. Harry Reid's office. If you were to call it you could ask the majority leader of the United States senate to take the 60 votes in his caucus and make a vote on some health care for the 300 million of us before he goes off for summer vacation. It would ...read more

You've got to think that every time Harry Reid leaves a meeting with Republicans they laugh hysterically. "'The Republicans have asked for more time, and I don't think it's unreasonable,' Reid said at a noon press conference." Hitler just wants Austria. That's all. He's promised ...read more

Harry Reid is a joke. A laughable, sick joke that is allowing Americans to have a substandard way of life. Democratic divisions in Congress stalled President Barack Obama's health care overhaul Thursday, with Majority Leader Harry Reid now saying that the Senate will not pass a ...read more

Hey Harry Reid, how about you take some control in the freaking senate, quit letting Max Baucus dick around and get us to a vote on health care reform. You know, if you weren't busy doing anything (like voting to increase the spread of guns). ...read more

No thanks to the sorry majority leader, Harry Reid. ...read more

Remind me again why this man is even in the senate, let alone leading the Democrats? The latest measure, offered by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), has far greater reach. Offered Monday as an amendment to the defense authorization bill, it would allow people to carry concealed ...read more

The Senate Dems should be showered in poop for even considering the idea that they should deny health care coverage for abortions in order to curry favor with the wingnut Republican fashion. News alert: you have sixty votes. That means there is no plausible reason for seriously ...read more

I concede that I only half paid attention to the news for the last 4 days, I was in San Angelo, TX visiting my friend and his family, but in all the brouhaha over the cap and trade bill that passed the House, I notice it hasn't passed the senate yet. So, what's the point? Time ...read more

If only the scaredy pants Democrats in congress would let them have it. Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete ...read more

The man is a serious mistake in leadership, and the only reason it isn't a bigger deal right now is because we've got Obama in the White House. ...read more

Why bother have a Democratic Majority Leader if he does stupid things like echo the dumbest of the dumbest Republican talking points on where Gitmo detainees are to be housed? Honestly, I'm surprised the Senate Dems have been able to push anything through with someone as limp as ...read more

The Democratic party just won a historic election, taking control of the White House and increasing its margins in the House and Senate - so of course its time for the Dems to do what they do when they get in power: Tear down the leader of the party and leave him open to ...read more

Crazy bastards. A majority of Americans say Roland Burris should be blocked from taking a U.S. Senate seat and Illinois should hold a special election to fill the vacancy he was appointed to fill, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. -- Interest in the dispute is high — six in ...read more

Woot. Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has lost his bid for a seventh term. The longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate trailed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3,724 votes after Tuesday's count. That's an insurmountable lead with only about 2,500 overseas ballots left to be ...read more

Proves once again, that while control of the House and Senate are nice to have, the Presidency is the real prize because when the House and Senate are stupid they are very stupid. ...read more

Woot. Senate Democratic leaders plan to cut Republican committee seats to reflect the new balance of power in the upper chamber, according to Democratic aides. Republicans will lose at least one seat on most committees and may lose as many as two on some of the larger panels, ...read more

Democrat Mark Begich is up 9 over the incumbent, incompetent Ted "Tubes" Stevens. A Democrat can win a senate in Alaska if people step up. That wacky idea Howard Dean had of competing in all the states as if the Democrats were a national party just might work. ...read more

The DSCC and the DCCC have strong fundraising advantages over their Republican counterparts. You know what this means, right? Good For John McCain! ...read more

Democrat Rick Noriega deflates Cornyn, who once said he could sympathize with people who kill judges. ...read more

In the same poll that shows Sen. Obama with a 17 point lead in Minnesota, Al Franken is 10 points behind Norm Coleman. I've never been super wild about the Franken run (I don't like entertainers and other media folks running for office most of the time), but I'm even less so now. ...read more

So, campaigning 101: Don't talk about how your Colorado's hometown boy and then use mountains from Alaska in your ad. More: Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer unofficially launched his campaign Wednesday with a biographical spot he was forced to pull almost immediately ...read more

Sen. Patrick Leahy calls out the Bush administration. ...read more

Leahy Introduces Bills To Combat War Profiteering, Public Corruption. Signaling a renewed emphasis on combating corruption at home and abroad, incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), introduced a package of bills Thursday targeting corrupt officials ...read more