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And The Hits Keep Coming
N/A — ... for the automakers, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in a statement it would be “irresponsible” to let the companies crash. So she said Bush will “consider other options,” including the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program that Congress created for the Treasury Department in October. Looks like TARP money will flow, but the battle will continue.  Now Bush fights Republicans.  Why? What even the White House can see at this point is ...

Stupid Theory Alert
The Corner on National Review Online — ... ] Josh Marshall has a crackpot theory : Finally, this issue now goes well beyond the fate of the American automakers. Senate Republicans are following this course for three key reasons first is payback against a major industrial union; second is payback against states like Michigan and Ohio who have been moving away from the GOP; third is the desire to advantage Japanese auto manufacturers who disproportionately do business in their southern states. You see, Republicans don't just disagree with Democrats on the merits of a bailout. They are actually out to screw the domestic ...

Marshall on the Filibuster
Lawyers, Guns and Money — Via LP, Josh Marshall's argument on why Senate Dems need to protect the filibuster is just a touch underspecified: It is just bad practice -- especially in the face of the last eight years -- for numerical majorities not only to use the power of their numbers in straight up votes but to change the rules of the game itself. Notwithstanding the fact that filibuster has been increasingly abused, it was wrong in 2005 and it would be wrong now. Ok... first, the filibuster isn't one of the "rules of the game" that we have specified as requiring a ...

Veto Points and the Bailout
Lawyers, Guns and Money — ... , it's not entirely clear whether Josh Marshall opposes getting rid of the filibuster or just using certain means to get rid of the filibuster. If it's the former, though, he's dead wrong. Adding another supermajority requirement onto the already high-veto-point American system makes no sense, and while there will be isolated cases in which it serves liberal interests over the course of history is is extremely damaging to progressive social change, and in any case conservative majorities are also entitled to govern and be held accountable. ...

Josh Marshall and the Filibuster
Matthew Yglesias — A few days back, Josh Marshall wrote: It is just bad practice — especially in the face of the last eight years — for numerical majorities not only to use the power of their numbers in straight up votes but to change the rules of the game itself. Notwithstanding the fact that filibuster has been increasingly abused, it was wrong in 2005 and it would be wrong now. I think this is backwards. The specific thing Republicans were trying to do in 2005, create a special “no filibusters of judicial nominees” rule, was ...

Filibusters
Political Animal — FILIBUSTERS.... There's been some great discussion around the 'sphere the past few days about filibusters, and I wanted to jump in. Josh Marshall got the ball rolling on Friday, noting in response to suggestions that Democrats should pull their own nuclear option, that's it's "just bad practice" for "numerical majorities not only to use the power of their numbers in straight up votes but to change the rules of the game itself." He added, however, that the "filibuster has been increasingly abused." ...