Senate

Al Franken Seeks the Wellstone Seat

John Nichols : Progressives, Liberals, & The American Left

Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken has won wide support among voters--and conservatives are getting scared.
K Street's Favorite Democrat

Ari Berman : Lobbies/PACs

When Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is every lobbyist's best friend, is economic reform possible?
Chuck Hagel Gets It

Robert Scheer : Iraq War

Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is more forthright about what's wrong in Iraq than any Democratic candidate so far.
A Democratic Anomaly

John Nichols

When senators leave office, voters should choose their replacements.

2006

Life After Net Neutrality: Replaced By a Chimp?

Jeffrey Chester : Internet & New Media

If Senator Ted Stevens defies mounting public opposition and succeeds in killing net neutrality, expect the free flow of online content to be replaced by lowbrow corporate infotainment.
'Tester Time' in Montana

John Nichols : Montana

John Tester's populist politics and country style make him the perfect candidate to unseat Senator Conrad Burns. Next step is for the progressive Montana farmer to win the June 6 primary.
Democratic Alarms in PA

John Nichols : Pennsylvania

Robert Casey Jr.'s endorsement of Samuel Alito could cost him the support of Pennsylvania Democrats and illustrates the perils of early intervention by DC Democrats in Senate races.
Ethics-Go-Round

Ari Berman : Lobbies/PACs

The House Ethics Committee has been defunct for a year: If now is not the time for both parties to get serious on Congressional ethics, when will it be?
Confirmation and Crisis

Bruce Shapiro : Supreme Court

If the Alito confirmation hearings were a test of Democratic strategy, the Alito vote to come is a test of moderate Republican integrity and mettle.
Compromised and Corrupted

Bruce Shapiro : Supreme Court

Samuel Alito and his handlers have crafted a disingenuous campaign that reeks of ethical compromise, bending Senate rules, bending the truth and compromising the confirmation process.
Kickback Mountain

: Lobbies/PACs

Cleaning up Congress after the Abramoff scandal involves far more than limits on gifts and perks. It requires barring the 'legalized bribery' of major campaign contributions.
Right-Wing Revelation

Bruce Shapiro : Supreme Court

Samuel Alito's blunt testimony on international law revealed the extremity of his judicial philosophy and carried profound implications for rulings he might make.
Are Voters Ready to Dump Lieberman?

Emily Biuso : Democratic Party

Evidence is mounting that Connecticut Democrats are dismayed by Senator Joseph Lieberman's support of President Bush and the Iraq War, giving impetus to assertions that voters are ready to dump him.
Credibility Gap

Bruce Shapiro : Supreme Court

A significant credibility gap opened between Samuel Alito's radical judicial record and his self-portrayal as an open-minded jurist before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his second day of testimony. Senators have reason to scrutinize a recent peer evaluation of Alito's rulings by Yale Law School, which locates him somewhere to the ideological right of Antonin Scalia.
Biography as Destiny

Bruce Shapiro : Supreme Court

On his first day of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Samuel Alito was purely political, focusing on his blue-collar roots and the accomplishments of his immigrant family. But Democratic Senators focused on his judicial record on abortion, voting rights and conflicts of interest.
Do the Crime, Do No Time

Nicholas von Hoffman : House

There ought to be a law about bribery in America, but there isn't--not a real one. Bribery is so central to our political culture that it's virtually impossible that any politician ensnared in the Abramoff scandal will actually be convicted of the corruption that makes Washington work.
Ruling Class Warriors

Eyal Press : House

House Republicans rammed through a budget bill in December that cuts $40 billion from domestic programs. Is there anyone of conscience in the Senate to defeat this?

2005

A White House Response to Senator Feingold

Calvin Trillin : George W. Bush

Chastised by Russ Feingold for extrajudicial spying, the President who would be king invokes the divine right of kings.
Gene McCarthy

George McGovern : History

Eugene McCarthy was a pure original, a great and good man, whose fundamental historical achievement was to be the standard-bearer for a moral and philosophical campaign against the Vietnam War.
The GOP Retreat

: Democratic Party

Undoing the savage inequalities of the Bush era will require a titanic fight, but the new-found courage of GOP moderates hints that significant changes are in the wind.
The 'No Exit' Strategy

Ari Berman : Iraq War

Most Americans want immediate action to pull out of Iraq, but Senate Republicans passed a measure today that essentially lets the White House off the hook.
Right to Trial Imperiled by Senate Vote

Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith : War on Terrorism

The Senate last week approved a measure that would allow government officials to essentially bypass the courts and lock up people suspected of terrorism without trial. Will cooler heads prevail?
Oil Tycoons Grilled on Windfall Profits

Ari Berman : Energy

Top oil execs were asked numerous questions at a Senate hearing on spectacular profits earned in the wake of tropical storms. But they had no real answers about how to ease the burden on ordinary Americans.
Gas Price-gouging or Business as Usual?

Nicholas von Hoffman : Energy

As the Senate opens hearings this week calling energy execs to account for their windfall profits on gasoline and natural gas, the question must be asked: Is this price-gouging or just good old-fashioned capitalism?
Showdown on the Court

: Supreme Court

The nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court forces the debate the President and the Senate have tried so mightily to avoid: whether the Court should shift decisively and radically to the right.
Torture on the Hill

: John McCain

War crimes are the darkest expression of the moral degradation that permeates the White House. Bush's threat to veto the Senate's anti-torture measure frames a crisis of law and legitimacy.
Minority/Majority

David Sirota : Republican Party

Three senators caved and supported the nomination of John G. Roberts Jr. as Supreme Court Chief Justice. But one lawmaker, banking on the public's cynicism of the oil industry, wants to tax its windfall profits.
The Many Faces of Dr. Coburn

Max Blumenthal : Conservatives & The American Right

He's a far-right baby doctor. His own chief of staff says he's clueless about the law. Meet Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, who'll help shape the US Supreme Court.
There's Their Way or the Galloway

Alexander Cockburn : Democratic Party

The Senate should abandon its comical pretensions to being a body reflecting any democratic mandate.
Judicial Wars Aren't Over

: Presidential Appointments & Nominations

Democrats must continue the fight to preserve an independent judiciary.
Legislative Bomb

: The Courts

The Republican Senate seeks to eliminate the fillibuster.
Filibustering the Truth

Judd Legum & Christy Harvey : The Courts

Debunking GOP myths about the filibuster.
The Boxer Rebellion

John Nichols : Progressives, Liberals, & The American Left

Her votes thrilled supporters and put some backbone into Senate Democrats.
Dick Durbin: Bush Fighter

John Nichols : Democratic Party

He can help mount an effective opposition.
Models of Opposition

: Democratic Party
Letter From Ground Zero

Jonathan Schell : Alberto Gonzales