New Year, New Congress / Republicans, Democrats, John Boehner
New Year, New Congress Will the 114th Congress be more popular than dog poop? Chris Hayes takes a look at the right-wing insurrection taking aim at John Boehner #39;s Speaker role. ALL IN WITH...
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New Year, New Congress / Republicans, Democrats, John Boehner - Video
The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics: Democrats amp;amp; Republicans Explain
A wedge issue is a social issue, often of a divisive or controversial nature, which splits apart a population or political group. Wedge issues can be advertised or publicly aired in an attempt...
By: askas gerba
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The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics: Democrats & Republicans Explain - Video
WASHINGTON Democrats may now be in the minority in the Senate, but a clutch of their centrists will hold particular sway as bridge-builders and powerbrokers.
In order to get anything done, the Republican majority of 54 still needs six Democrats more if some GOP members peel off to clear procedural hurdles and bring legislation to a vote.
And Republicans will be under substantial pressure to get things done in the next two years. To give themselves the best chance to hold the Senate and win the White House, Republicans will have to show that they can govern effectively, the thinking goes. And to do that, they will need at least a handful of Democrats in the Senate.
"Democratic senators from purple and red states will play a decisive role in consensus-building, writes former Sen. Olympia Snowe, a key Republican bridge-builder herself during her years in Congress, in an e-mail.
In interviews, potential aisle-crossing Democrats expressed willingness to work with the new Republican majority, led by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But dont expect them to be pushovers. They have their own issues and interests to watch out for. They also cant be considered as a voting bloc, because their votes will depend on the issue.
Still, several say they want to help break the gridlock that has come to characterize Congress.
If there was one message I heard from a much closer election than I or others anticipated, it was that people want us to get stuff done, said Sen. Mark Warner (D) of Virginia, in the waning days of the 113th Congress the second least-productive Congress in modern history.
Senator Warner is on the Republicans go-to list of Democrats, along with Sens. Tim Kaine (also of Virginia), Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana. Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, is also a top prospectfor Republicans.
The dealmaking is moving quickly.
On Wednesday, Senator Donnelly joined Sen. Susan Collins (R) of Maine to unveil proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act. The legislation would change the ACA definition of full-time employment from 30 hours per week to 40 in order to prevent companies from reducing employees' hours to avoid the employer mandate. The House is expected to pass a similar measure this week.
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Can Republicans fix Congress? It could be up to these Democrats. (+video)
WASHINGTON Democrats may now be in the minority in the Senate, but a clutch of their centrists will hold particular sway as bridge-builders and powerbrokers.
In order to get anything done, the Republican majority of 54 still needs six Democrats more if some GOP members peel off to clear procedural hurdles and bring legislation to a vote.
And Republicans will be under substantial pressure to get things done in the next two years. To give themselves the best chance to hold the Senate and win the White House, Republicans will have to show that they can govern effectively, the thinking goes. And to do that, they will need at least a handful of Democrats in the Senate.
"Democratic senators from purple and red states will play a decisive role in consensus-building, writes former Sen. Olympia Snowe, a key Republican bridge-builder herself during her years in Congress, in an e-mail.
In interviews, potential aisle-crossing Democrats expressed willingness to work with the new Republican majority, led by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But dont expect them to be pushovers. They have their own issues and interests to watch out for. They also cant be considered as a voting bloc, because their votes will depend on the issue.
Still, several say they want to help break the gridlock that has come to characterize Congress.
If there was one message I heard from a much closer election than I or others anticipated, it was that people want us to get stuff done, said Sen. Mark Warner (D) of Virginia, in the waning days of the 113th Congress the second least-productive Congress in modern history.
Senator Warner is on the Republicans go-to list of Democrats, along with Sens. Tim Kaine (also of Virginia), Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana. Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, is also a top prospectfor Republicans.
The dealmaking is moving quickly.
On Wednesday, Senator Donnelly joined Sen. Susan Collins (R) of Maine to unveil proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act. The legislation would change the ACA definition of full-time employment from 30 hours per week to 40 in order to prevent companies from reducing employees' hours to avoid the employer mandate. The House is expected to pass a similar measure this week.
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Can Republicans fix Congress? It could be up to these Democrats.
Democrats have introduced a bill (again) that would ban ISPs from entering into "paid prioritization" deals.
The net neutrality issue has been bouncing around the Federal Communications Commission for years now. But the easiest way to get something on the books is for Congress to introduce and pass a bill.
Given that net neutrality is a very partisan issue, previous attempts to enact legislation on the issue haven't gone very far. But two Democrats are trying once again, and have introduced a bill that would ban Internet service providers from entering into "paid prioritization" deals.
The Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act from Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Rep. Doris Matsui of California would prohibit an ISP (like Comcast, for example) and a content provider (like Hulu) from joining forces and hammering out a deal whereby Hulu streams would load faster for Comcast customers than they would for those on Verizon FiOS, AT&T, or Cablevision.
This is the second time Leahy and Matsui have introduced this type of bill; they did so in June, but it didn't go very far, in part because Republicans are so vehemently opposed to any sort of net neutrality legislation at all.
But this time around, the bill comes as the FCC is preparing to vote on a set of net neutrality rules from Chairman Tom Wheeler at a Feb. 26 open meeting. We don't yet know what Wheeler's proposal will include, but he created a firestorm last year when he suggested that paid prioritization might be on the table for use in some rare cases. Wheeler has denied, however, that he would support the creation of "Internet fast lanes."
As a result, the Leahy and Matsui bill would require the FCC to use its existing authority to ban paid prioritization deals.
"The Internet must be a platform for free expression and innovation, and a place where the best ideas and services can reach consumers based on merit rather than based on a financial relationship with a broadband provider," Sen. Leahy said in a statement.
"As the FCC develops rules of the road for the Internet, we must ensure there are no tolls, gatekeepers, or a two-tiered Internet system in this country," Matsui said.
The move comes as Republicans this week took control of the Senate and the House. As The Washington Post points out, getting any net neutrality legislation passed - from Republicans or Democrats - will be a rough road. For now, we'll probably have to wait and see what Chairman Wheeler comes up with.
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Democrats Try Again With Net Neutrality Bill