Murkowski Slammed Over Filibuster Vote
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally went nuclear. Using a rare procedural move, Reid and a majority of Senators voted 52-48 to overhaul a filibuster rule which had largely worked for decades, but which Republicans had so abused since the beginning of the Obama administration, that judicial and cabinet appointments that once would have been routine, became dead in the water. The numbers speak for themselves. The vote was largely down party lines, with 3 Democrats breaking ranks. But at least one Republican we know, who had a history of supporting the concept of the up-or-down vote, cast her vote…
Begich Wins Seat on Appropriations
Score! (I search frantically for a Democratic Alaskan political wonk and fistbump them!) I wrote before about how Harry Reid was busy armoring Mark Begich for his upcoming reelection fight in 2014 with committee positions that would bolster his effectiveness in Washington, and make him indispensable to his home state. What did Ted Stevens fans refer to when touting the special power he held in the senate? “Well, you know…” they’d say as they jammed their hands in theirr pockets and arched an eyebrow, “He was the, uh… head of the Appropriations Committee. Stick that in your pipe and smoke…