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Democrats are urging a speedy confirmation of President Barack Obamas new nominee to the National Labor Relations Board. On Thursday, they made clear theyre determined to get it.

Less than 24 hours after the White Houses announcement Wednesday that President Obama nominated Lauren McFerran to the federal labor board, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions scheduled a hearing next Thursday to vet her. Ms. McFerran is currently the committees chief labor counsel and a graduate of the Yale Law School. She was nominated to the five-member labor board to succeed Democrat Nancy Schiffer, whose term expires Dec. 16.

The timing of the nomination and hearing gives Democrats just enough time to try to confirm Ms. McFerran this year, before the GOP takes control of the Senate. Republicans havent publicly opposed Ms. McFerran but theyve repeatedly accused the boards Democratic majority of being union advocates instead of umpires during the current administration. The board resolves employee-management disputes in the private sector and oversees union elections there.

A senior GOP aide said Thursday that Ms. McFerran would have a hard time getting confirmed in a Republican majority Senate. But until next year, Republicans are helpless bystanders who dont really have delay tactics at their disposal, he added.

Democrats have more power to confirm Ms. McFerran now, while they are still in the majority, because under a 2013 Senate rules change, nominations can proceed with a simple majority, typically 51 when all senators are present, down from three-fifths previously. A Senate Democratic leadership aide said that Democrats would try to bring her nomination up for a vote on the Senate in the lame duck session before Congress adjourns for the year.

The timing of that vote is unclear but a GOP aide said the date of the hearing would allow Democrats to schedule a committee vote in early December, advancing Ms. McFerran to a confirmation vote by mid-December if the process runs smoothly.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa), the HELP committee chairman, said Wednesday that he wants a quick confirmation. I intend for the Board to remain fully functional and I look forward to the speedy confirmation of Ms. McFerran, he said.

The five-member board is currently fully staffed with three Democrats and two Republicans. If Ms. Schiffer is not replaced when her term expires in mid-December, the board would have two Democrats and two Republicans, which could result in gridlock on controversial decisions that are often partisan.

Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article

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Originally posted here:
Democrats Try for Quick Confirmation of NLRB Nominee

As bad as things were for Democrats on Nov. 4, it appears they could have been even worse. Witness: A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute.

The poll shows that19 percent of Republican voters made up their minds in the final week of the campaign.By comparison, nearly one-third 31 percent of Democratic voters say theydecided in the final seven days of the campaign (including 10 percent on Election Day).

Toput that in perspective, consider that the generic ballot favored Republicans 52to47. If you extrapolate those late-deciders onto those numbers,around 10 percentage points worth of the GOP's 52 percent of voters would have decided to vote Republican in the closing days, while 14.5 pointsof the Democrats' 47 percent held out that long including about five points until the final day.

Before those late deciders ... well ... decided, the GOP would have led by about nine or 10 points on the generic ballot, at least according to this poll. (Again, this is rough math.)

Had those late-deciders broken more evenly, or a few extra points' worth of Democrats decided not to vote at all, it's possible that the GOP's 52-47 margin could have been even bigger, and maybe we'd be talking about more GOP House seats and/or a 10- or 11-seat GOP gain in the Senate rather than a likely nine-seat gain (with the possible additions of states like Virginia and New Hampshire).

That's all very hypothetical, though, and these are national numbers not focused on key Senate races -- so they are only so useful. Also, it's quite possible those Democratic late-deciders are simply partisans who weren't all that enthusiastic about voting and, thus, didn't technically decide until the very end, even as their votes were basically foregone conclusions.

But for what it's worth, exit polls in Georgia, North Carolina and Iowa all showed much the same thing: Republican Senate candidates leading by substantial margins amongearly-deciders, and Democratsleading by several points or more among late-deciders.In Georgia, for instance, people who decided their vote in final week favored Democrat Michelle Nunn, 50-43. People deciding earlier favored Republican Sen.-elect David Perdue, 55-43.

Andfor Democrats fretting about just how bad last week was, these polls suggest at least to some degree thatthey dodged another bullet or two.

Aaron Blake covers national politics and writes regularly for The Fix.

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The Fix: The 2014 election was very bad for Democrats. It was almost even worse.

TALLAHASSEE Demoralized after their brutal midterm election losses, Florida Democrats are once again battling each other and now face an even tougher challenge of rebuilding.

"It's hard. It's rotten. It's depressing," said Allison Tant, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, who promises to press ahead and finish her four-year term. "But I'm not going to walk away just because it's gotten harder. I don't have that in me."

Democrats' explanations are many: not enough money, not enough good candidates and an unfocused message, especially to independent voters.

Tant on Thursday announced a task force headed by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to attack the party's most glaring weakness: a failure to recruit capable and well-funded candidates for the Legislature, Congress and statewide offices.

But rather than unite, some Democrats are pointing fingers and seeking scapegoats.

Their target is state Rep. Mark Pafford, a soft-spoken lawmaker from West Palm Beach already chosen by his colleagues to lead the 38-member House Democratic caucus for the next two years. Humiliated by last week's losses, some Democrats want to replace Pafford with Rep. Dwayne Taylor of Daytona Beach.

Tant is furious at what she calls a "circus" and is calling out Pafford's critics as "bed-wetters" on the eve of a public vote Monday in Tallahassee.

"I'm pretty tired of this whole circular firing squad thing," Tant said as she pounded her fist on a conference table in an interview with the Times/Herald. "I'm ready for the bed-wetting to stop."

Gleeful Republicans are enjoying the Democrats' latest episode of divisiveness.

"Talk about a fistfight in a phone booth," said Republican strategist and lobbyist J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich, who has been on both sides of epic political battles. "When there's just a handful of you, you need to stand back-to-back."

Read more from the original source:
Depressed by 'rotten' results, Florida Democrats struggle to move forward

Republicans Unable To Deter Obama On Immigration Reform

By: Phil Owens

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Republicans Unable To Deter Obama On Immigration Reform - Video

Washington President Obama appears set to go big on immigration policy, even though a unilateral move is sure to stir up furious opposition from Republicans, who will soon have full control of Congress.

That picture became clearer Thursday as news reports cited Obama administration sources saying the president's promised executive action could provide legal status for as many as 5 million immigrants who currently lack it.

The move could win Mr. Obama resounding praise from pro-immigrant groups, but would draw intense opposition from Republicans and further sour relations between the president and lawmakers on issues that go well beyond immigration.

Both sides agree on the need for immigration reform, which could pair new border-security efforts with an acknowledgement that many immigrants now in the United States illegally should be granted legal residency and potential paths toward citizenship.

But with legislative efforts currently stalled, Obama pledged to take actions on his own after last weeks election. His announcement could come next week.

According to reports from The New York Times and Fox News, a centerpiece of Obamas expected announcement will be to grant a reprieve to the parents of children who are US citizens or legal residents. They would no longer need to fear deportation when they seek jobs.

Republican critics call Obamas anticipated move a nuclear option on a sensitive issue that deserves to be settled through traditional legislation.

A new Christian Science Monitor/TIPP poll finds that most Americans agree with that view.

The Obama administration has said any executive action can be superseded by legislation that is signed into law, and it has encouraged the Republican-led House to act on comprehensive reforms that have passed the Senate.

House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio warned last week that an executive action would poison the well, reducing rather than enhancing the chances for legislation to pass. Still, he acknowledged an urgent need for the nation to have immigration reform.

Read more:
Immigration: Against GOP warnings, Obama appears set to go big