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Senate



  • The Feinstein Situation Shows the Senate Dems Have No Plan

    by Norman Ornstein

    After 9/11, a joint committee formed by two prominent think tanks studied how the Senate could deal with large-scale incapacitation of Senators through temporary replacements. The COVID pandemic and the aging of the Senators make those recommendations, still unfulfilled, more urgent than ever. 



  • Does Sen. Fetterman's Depression Disclosure Signal Change in Mental Health Acceptance?

    by Jonathan Sadowsky

    51 years ago the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Senator Thomas Eagleton, was dropped from the ticket when it was revealed he had received treatment for depression. A historian of mental health says it's too simple to declare progress without acknowledging ongoing stigma. 



  • The Racist Origins of Georgia's Runoff System

    by Steven F. Lawson

    Runoff elections were installed in Georgia to ensure that Black voters could not elect their preferred candidates, allowing white voters a second chance to consolidate support around white candidates. 



  • Ornstein: Five Filibuster Myths

    "Supporters of the status quo have their reasons, many of them caught up in myths about the history of the Constitution and the Senate’s role."



  • Bob Dole: RIP to an Organization Man and Veteran

    by Matthew Cooper

    A veteran political reporter acknowledges that the late Senator and presidential candidate could be a tough partisan, but was devoted to fighting within the rules of procedure. 



  • How Did the Senate Get Supermajority Gridlock?

    by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

    The framers clearly intended for majority rule in the passage of legislation in the Senate. So how did we get to the point where a majority can't do anything? 



  • No, John Calhoun Didn't Invent the Filibuster

    by Robert Elder

    A new book castigating the filibuster traces it back to the parliamentary maneuvers of pro-slavery ideologue John C. Calhoun. One needn't embrace either Calhoun or the filibuster to recognize this is historically incorrect.