Topic: U.S. Democratic Party

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Can immigration reform pass? Five senators to watch.

Immigration reform will pass the Senate before the Fourth of July, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada has vowed. Here are five key senators (or groups of senators) that will be pivotal during the two weeks of debate.

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Decoder Wire Hillary who? Joe Biden says he still dreams of becoming president.

Everyone knows Hillary Clinton would be the presumptive Democratic front-runner for president in 2016. But Joe Biden, in a new interview, doesn't sound like he's ready to concede.
House votes to delay two health care mandates: Will it matter?

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to delay two provisions of the 2010 health care reforms on Wednesday. Though the bills are unlikely to pass in the Democratic-run Senate, the votes gave Obamacare opponents a chance to express frustrations with the reforms.
In filibuster deal, a glimpse of how the Senate could actually work

The filibuster deal to avoid the Senate's 'nuclear option' showed that when senators actually talk to each other (a rare thing nowadays), they’re not so bad at figuring things out.
Senate averts 'nuclear option,' but leaves deeper questions unanswered

After a rare, closed meeting senators agreed to confirm several controversial Obama nominees. The deal avoided a 'nuclear option' that would have changed Senate rules on filibusters.
The Monitor's View What Senate filibuster deal tells young democracies like Egypt's

The Senate filibuster deal avoids the severe political backlash of the 'nuclear option' – for now. It recognizes the filibuster's historic role in protecting minority interests, a lesson for newly democratic countries like Egypt.
Filibuster fight: Senators still wrestling over nominees (+video)

A series of roll call votes are planned for Tuesday morning to confirm seven presidential appointees whom Republicans have so far blocked from receiving yes-or-no votes.
Tax VOX How not to fix the IRS

Simply bashing the IRS for its faults won’t help fix a troubled and often badly-managed agency, Gleckman argues.
Decoder Wire On immigration reform, more Americans hew to the Democrats' stance

Forty-eight percent of Americans say their views on immigration reform align best with the Democratic Party, compared with 36 percent whose views are closer to the Republican Party, a new poll shows. The gap is much wider for blacks and Hispanics.
Decoder Wire Texas abortion uproar: Could backlash turn Lone Star State blue? (+video)

Outrage is running high among Texas Democrats after the Republican-led Legislature pushed through a tough new abortion bill. While change is coming, a blue Texas is not imminent, it seems.
Former governor of Montana won't run for Senate; an opening for GOP?

Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat and former governor of Montana, announced he won't seek the US Senate seat vacated by Sen. Max Baucus next year. Baucus' seat will be a target for Republicans, who need to pick up six seats to control the Senate.
Texas abortion vote mirrors Americans' divided view

Texas lawmakers have passed a restrictive abortion law that could sharply reduce the number of clinics. Over the years, the sharply divided public view has become more conservative.
A Texas end run on Roe v. Wade abortion rights?

Despite fierce resistance from Democrats, Texas Senate Republicans on Friday pushed through a bold anti-abortion bill, becoming the 13th state to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy,
Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner stage political comebacks. Redemption overload?

Not long ago New York Democrats Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner seemed to have killed their political careers with sex scandals. Now, each is attempting a comeback, but will New Yorkers forgive and forget?
Food stamps fact check: For now, program will continue as is

Food stamps have historically been linked to farm programs, but on Thursday the House passed the farm bill without addressing food stamps at all, saying the $80 billion program would be addressed in a separate bill. In 2012, one in seven Americans used food stamps.
Texas Legislature passes abortion bill, Democrats vow a fight

In a few days, Texas Governor Rick Perry will sign into law a controversial bill banning abortions after 20 weeks. Democrats, who offered 20 amendments to the bill, all rejected, have vowed to fight it through lawsuits and at the ballot box.
House farm bill leaves food stamps in limbo

A House version of the farm bill took food stamps out entirely – leaving them to be taken up later and separately. But if cuts are what Republicans want, the tactic might backfire.
Immigration reform: How is the House approaching it?

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives appeared divided on whether to provide immigrants living in the U.S. illegally a path to citizenship following a closed door meeting Wednesday.
Immigration reform: House GOP consensus is to do something – but later

House Republicans emerged from a strategy session on immigration reform saying something needed to be done but seeming content to shelve the issue until the fall. What to do is still an issue.
Conceal-carry: Heeding court, Illinois becomes 50th state to allow it

Both chambers of the Illinois legislature on Tuesday overrode a veto on the matter by Gov. Pat Quinn. About 300,000 residents could apply for conceal-carry permits, although some details of the law have to be worked out first.
Senate back at student loans as pressure and rates mount, but deal elusive

A key student loan rate doubled last week after Congress refused to act, but the majority Democrats in the Senate are split and the party leadership is looking for a short-term fix.
Will GOP plan to cut food stamps save the farm bill ... or kill it?

After the farm bill's stunning defeat last month, House GOP leaders are feeling out whether they can strip out a massive food stamp program and win back enough conservative votes to pass the aid to farmers.
Congress's summer 'to do' list not too taxing. What tops it?

The Senate will approve some agency nominations – and perhaps avoid a showdown over Obama's judicial nominees. Student loans need attention. A 'sequester' revise? Don't count on it before Congress recesses in August.
Robert Reich Tax polluters, not students.

Republicans are willing to impose taxes on college students while shying away from taxing polluters; the GOP has it backwards, Reich says.
The Monitor's View When officials try to ban economic truth

A mandate on Chinese media not to report a credit crunch is the latest example of governments trying to keep bad news under wraps. But the forces for honest financial data are too strong to defy.
Global News Blog Good Reads: From algorithms, to Roman walls, to the new liberals and conservatives

This week's round-up of Good Reads include doubts about algorithms' 'all-power,' the recipe for Roman concrete, the need for a Turkish Mandela, young liberals who may be more conservative than they realize, and the usefulness of military 'land power.'