Word: filibusterer
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Still struggling to line up the 60 votes that are needed to overcome a potential filibuster of health care reform, Senate majority leader Harry Reid sent a strong signal on Tuesday that President Obama is unlikely to be signing his top domestic priority into law this year, as Democrats had...
Reid's decision to include a public option in the bill that he takes to the floor has also complicated matters. While applauded by the party's liberal base, the idea of adding a government-run alternative plan to the choices for covering the uninsured faces resistance from some of...
The move is a big gamble uncharacteristic of the typically cautious Reid. "I don't bring anything to the floor unless I think I have the votes," he said on Oct. 21. Yet Reid isn't sure he has the votes to bring this bill to the floor, and it...
Reid himself also faces what could be a difficult re-election in 2010, which could be one of the factors driving him in favor of giving the public option a shot on the Senate floor. "This is all about his home-state politics," said one senior Democratic Senate aide. "This...
Indeed, the real significance of his move is tactical. Both procedural hurdles ahead of Reid - bringing up the bill and cutting off a promised Republican filibuster - will require him to muster every one of the 60 Democrats in his caucus. But the motion to proceed is far easier for the...