Senate

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Snowe Could Be Lone GOP Health Care Vote

Democrats hope centrist senator can get them past 60

(Newser) - As health care talks grow more polarized, Democrats are looking to Olympia Snowe as their most likely—and quite possibly only—Republican vote, the New York Times reports. “I certainly hope not!” exclaims Snowe when asked about the possibility. But the centrist Maine senator has long been engaged...

Crist Names Aide to Senate
 Crist Names Aide to Senate 

Crist Names Aide to Senate

LeMieux is the Florida governor's former chief of staff

(Newser) - Florida Governor Charlie Crist has appointed his former campaign manager and chief of staff to fill the Senate seat of Mel Martinez, MSNBC reports. George LeMieux will represent the state until next year's election, when Crist himself will vie for the GOP nod. “George is bright, capable, and an...

Brilliant, Loyal Kennedy Staffers the Envy of DC

Lion has cubs to thank for many legislative victories

(Newser) - When they discovered their old boss had died, about 100 former Kennedy staffers headed to Boston to help with the funeral. “We are a family,” says one former communications adviser. They have also been a formidable political asset, both to the senator and the Democratic Party, the Washington ...

Kennedy Leaves Cape Cod for the Last Time

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy's body is en route to Boston, where he will lie in repose at his slain brother's presidential library for 2 days of public visitation. The motorcade carrying the senator's body and members of his family departed the family compound on Cape Cod for the 70-mile trip to the...

Three Speeches That Define Ted Kennedy

(Newser) - He wasn't always the most articulate person in one-on-one conversations, but Ted Kennedy gave powerful speeches, writes Gail Russell Chaddock in the Christian Science Monitor. Three that resonate:
  • His 1980 concession: “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope
...

Today's Senate Won't Produce Another Ted
 Today's Senate Won't Produce 
 Another Ted 
OPINION

Today's Senate Won't Produce Another Ted

(Newser) - If you ask leading Democrats who can replace Ted Kennedy as the Senate’s liberal standard-bearer, the most frequent answer is “nobody,” writes Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times. No one has a record to match Kennedy’s, and in today’s Senate, building one would be...

Gov. Patrick Backs Kennedy Push to Fill Seat

Move to change Mass. election law gains momentum

(Newser) - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick came out in support yesterday of Ted Kennedy’s request that he be given the power to appoint someone to fill Kennedy's Senate seat until a special election can be held, the Boston Globe reports. “I’d like the Legislature to take up the bill...

Kennedy's Senate Class Full of Lions
 Kennedy's 
 Senate Class 
 Full of Lions 
ANALYSIS

Kennedy's Senate Class Full of Lions

Giants abound in 88th Senate

(Newser) - It’s no wonder Ted Kennedy became a lion of the Senate, writes Tom Schaller of FiveThirtyEight.com: he learned from the best. Kennedy began his first full term with the 88th Congress in 1963, and the list of senators sworn in alongside him contains “a safari’s worth...

After Diagnosis, Kennedy Wanted a 'Good Ending'

(Newser) - When Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer, he insisted that he would have a "good ending for myself," and friends tell the New York Times that the late senator's last 15 months were filled with joy. He and his wife Vicki spent evenings watching 24 and James...

Kennedy a Green Warrior Before His Time

Kennedy a  
Green Warrior  
Before His Time 

APPRECIATION

Kennedy a Green Warrior Before His Time

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy was a crusader for environmental protection and energy efficiency long before those causes became fashionable. Climate Progress lists his accomplishments:
  • He eliminated the “oil depletion allowance,” which excluded 22% of oil producer’s revenue from taxes.
  • Kennedy created the 2007 American COMPETES Act, which funds clean
...

Byrd: Rename Health Bill for Kennedy
 Byrd: Rename 
 Health Bill 
 for Kennedy 
tribute roundup

Byrd: Rename Health Bill for Kennedy

(Newser) - Senator Robert Byrd wants his colleagues to honor Ted Kennedy by renaming health care legislation in his honor, Politico reports. “As a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling,” said Byrd, 92, himself in poor health. "My heart and...

Health Care Bills Don't Offer Real Choice
Health Care
Bills Don't Offer
Real Choice
ANALYSIS

Health Care Bills Don't Offer Real Choice

Legislation in Congress seem to settle for status quo

(Newser) - Health insurance firms are essentially monopolies because employers, not individuals, choose which plans to offer. This freedom from competitive forces has allowed insurance to become flaky and opaque—and the reform currently being debated in Washington would do little about it, writes David Leonhardt for the New York Times. Even...

'Heartbroken' Obama Hails Kennedy as 'Greatest Senator'

(Newser) - Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" to learn of the death of Ted Kennedy, whom the president called “one of the greatest senators of our time but also one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy," in an appearance on Martha's Vineyard, where the...

Kennedy's Seat Likely Vacant Until 2010

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy's Senate seat will likely remain vacant until early next year, reports CBS News. Massachusetts law specifies that a special election be scheduled between 145 and 160 days from now, and doesn't allow Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim successor. Kennedy himself urged Massachusetts legislators in a recent...

Baldwin on Opposing Lieberman: Never Mind

(Newser) - Alec Baldwin has no plans to challenge Joe Lieberman for his Senate seat in 2012, USA Today reports. The actor’s spokesman says he wants the Connecticut independent to retain his position because of the paucity of moderate Republicans in the Senate. In a recent Playboy interview, Baldwin floated many...

Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races
Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races
analysis

Republicans Gain Ground in Senate Races

Latest trends show even Reid, Spector, Dodd in trouble: Silver

(Newser) - Things are looking brighter for Republicans in the Senate, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. In his monthly ranking of which seats are most likely to switch parties in 2010, Republicans have made a big move. Of the 10 seats that look more likely to switch hands, seven favor Republicans....

Lieberman to Baldwin: 'Make My Day'

Conn. sen. defiant after actor threatens run

(Newser) - Alec Baldwin has "no use" for Joe Lieberman and is kicking around a move to Connecticut to run for his Senate seat in 2012—to which Lieberman tells CNN, "Make my day." The independent says he respects Baldwin as an actor and comedian, and "if he...

Reid Trails 2 Republican Challengers in Poll

(Newser) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trailing not one but two GOP challengers in the race for his seat, Politico reports. In a poll released today, Reid lags behind both college basketball star Danny Tarkanian, 38% to 49%, and state GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, 40% to 45%, in one-on-one match-ups....

Dems May Split Health Plan Into 2 Bills to Skirt GOP

(Newser) - Here's the latest health care strategy gaining traction among Democrats: Pass two bills instead of one. The idea, as laid out by the Wall Street Journal, goes like this: Democrats would tuck most of the legislation's more controversial spending measures—maybe even a public insurance option—into a first bill...

Obama to Recast Health Reform as Moral Issue

Focus on legislative details has bogged down debate, supporters worry

(Newser) - President Obama is about to start focusing more on the moral aspects of health care reform, stressing the need to provide secure coverage to all Americans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The shift may reflect the concerns of some supporters that Obama has spent too much time talking about the...

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