Will Boxer retirement impact Democrats in 2016?
Aug 14, 2014 - Robin Williams, the iconic comedic actor who died Monday, was in the early stages of Parkinson #39;s disease at the time of his death. Famous peop. Bradley Blakeman and Emily...
By: Steven Ross
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Will Boxer retirement impact Democrats in 2016? - Video
Story highlights Most Senate Democrats have never been in the minority New status in Senate will require adjustment for many Democrats
It was only after walking in on a roomful of lunching Republican senators that the Democrats, to their chagrin, realized that when they lost the majority, they also lost many of the perks of power -- including use of the spacious room that's hosted Democratic caucuses for the last eight years.
"I'm going to the wrong caucus," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said with an embarrassed smile as he turned to find the LBJ Room, an equally ornate but tighter room where the smaller 46-member Democratic caucus will now meet.
"Oh, I forgot we were in this room," grumbled Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, as he walked into LBJ.
The room assignment is just one example of how life will be different for Democrats after a long eight years in the majority -- so long, in fact, that most current Democratic senators have never served in the minority.
Gone are coveted committee chairmanships and the enormous influence over legislation, oversight hearings and investigations that go with them. Gone too are committee slots for Democrats, as Republicans beef up GOP control of the committees that will vote to cuts taxes, slash spending, ditch government regulations, and approve other measures that many Democrats oppose.
The long weekends Democrats regularly scheduled by taking most Fridays off are also a thing of the past. To boost the Senate's woeful productivity, GOP leaders are vowing to work five days a week.
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For Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, who during the last Congress served as president pro tempore of the Senate (the most senior senator from the majority party), the change means he's no longer third in line to the presidency as called for in the Constitution. That change also means he loses the U.S. Capitol Police detail that was assigned drive him and be with him at all times -- arguably a tough perk to give up. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, now has that privilege.
"It's tough. I guarantee it's tough," said Sen. John McCain, with a wry smile when asked how the Democrats will cope getting used to the minority. McCain, who has seen the control of the chamber change several times over his three decades in the Senate, said the hardest part may be that "you're used to setting the agenda" and "you're used to reporting out your own legislation."
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The new reality for Senate Democrats
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) writes in a new book that immigration reform should happen through piecemeal bills, not the kind of massive compromise legislation that he sponsored in the last Congress.
The potential 2016 presidential candidate nods to conservative critics of his big bill, which passed the Senate but never got a vote in the House. But he does not apologize or recant.
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He does advocate a new process for letting people who entered the country illegally to stay. It does not include an explicit pathway to citizenship, something that was included in the Senate bill after negotiations with Democrats. But aides say Rubio does not rule out allowing people who entered the country illegally to eventually become citizens.
Rubios book, American Dreams, comes out next week, but POLITICO obtained an early copy of the chapter that addresses immigration.
The 43-year-old Rubio writes that it is not nativism for people to fear those in the country illegally could take the jobs of American citizens. But he criticizes activists on both sides who he believes are responsible for stalemate on the divisive issue.
Some on the right know it needs to be done, but they want someone else to do it, he writes. Some on the left have concluded that having the issue is more politically valuable than solving the problem. Groups on both sides use it to raise money.
The only mention of immigration in the book comes during the final pages of the second chapter. The rest of the book outlines Rubios domestic policy agenda, including on taxes and health care.
Immigration is the single biggest issue working against Rubios presidential hopes. He hoped that shepherding the bill into law in 2013 would give him a signature achievement to run on, but activists on the right mobilized to help block it. And polling showed an uptick in concern about illegal immigration.
As he weighs whether to run for president or reelection to the Senate, Rubio knows he will need to address the issue head on. The book tour, which starts next week, will offer a window into whether there is space for him in the crowded 2016 field.
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Rubio tries to thread immigration needle
This AMAZING Fact Proves Why American Democracy Is Totally Broken
"The incoming Senate is comprised mostly of Republicans -- 54 to the Democrats #39; 44 (plus two independents, who hang out/vote with Democrats). But those Democrats actually received 20 million...
By: The Young Turks
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This AMAZING Fact Proves Why American Democracy Is Totally Broken - Video
Rep. Slaughter on Democrats #39; Agenda for the New Year
By: Congresswoman Louise Slaughter
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Rep. Slaughter on Democrats' Agenda for the New Year - Video