Newer Senators Fed Up With Old Rules That Block Progress - LATimes

[WillyT]

Newer senators fed up with old rules that block progress
Filibusters and anonymous 'holds' are under assault, but change will be slow.
By Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau
May 15, 2010

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Just when the Senate was poised to change an arcane rule that let even a single senator paralyze the entire chamber, a single senator stood up and invoked another arcane rule to derail the whole thing.

It happened late Thursday and appeared to represent just the kind of episode that has helped stir public frustration over Washington's seemingly dysfunctional ways. The issue was a relatively modest proposal to require Senators to disclose their identities within two days if they put a "hold" on a bill or a presidential nomination.

But beneath the surface, the incident may reflect a growing possibility that the Capitol could actually be in the process of changing, albeit slowly.

Newer senators complain that rules originally created to protect the rights of the minority have turned into impassable obstacles to dealing with big issues. The junior members are getting unlikely support from their seniors, who are loath to be seen as defending the status quo at a time when some voters seem ready to punish incumbents regardless of party.

Against that background, the Democratic leadership has promised to reexamine some of the old rules — including that most vaunted of time-encrusted mechanisms for delay, the filibuster.

The sheer number of new Democratic senators — 21, representing nearly half of the party's caucus — and the unwillingness of others to stand in their way provides a momentum unfelt since the Watergate babies were elected in 1974.

"Frustration is building and the Senate is really taking a beating in the public on this," said Thomas Mann, a scholar at the Brookings Institution. "That's why the newer members are getting more traction. They just feel the pressure to deliver."

First -term Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said: "We get it."

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More: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-congress-reforms-20100515,0,7784000.story

:shrug:

[HughMoran]

1. DeMint should be excoriated, screamed at and otherwise ass-raped for the disgusting thing he did

That vile motherfucker needs to be brought to task for this.

[BeFree]

2. A new trend on DU?

Instead of attacking our fellow Dems, you are attacking someone who is solidly in the enemy camp?

Careful, Hugh, you may start a trend.