Congress, parliamentary procedure, filibusters, discharge petitions, continuing resolutions, debt ceilings, party discipline, and the many ways formal rules shape — and are shaped by — strategic behavior.
The SHUTDOWN-CEILING SHOWDOWN has been depicted, typically, as “the Republicans versus [Democrats/Obama].” The simple story here is that many people think of “the Republicans” as a unified whole, a group qua “unitary actor,” a collection of individuals who are acting as one.[1] My recent posts (e.g. this, this, and this) and my recent blustering on the wireless have … Read more
The Daily Kos has a piece authored by “War on Error” that linked to my piece today on H.Res. 368. I want to correct a misinterpretation in that piece. The author states that Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, tried to end the Government Shutdown with a Discharge Petition on October 12, 2013 This isn’t correct. Van Hollen … Read more
In a little noticed procedural move on October 1st, the House of Representatives “entered in to the stage of disagreement” with the Senate with respect to H.J.Res. 59, the “clean” continuing resolution (CR) that, as currently amended by the Senate, would reopen the government at the sequestered levels.[1] Specifically, H.Res. 368 does two things. The … Read more
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney just argued that, if the House Republicans won’t allow a default, why would they not give a longer extension of the debt ceiling, instead postponing another round of brinksmanship in 6 weeks, which—the argument goes—will merely lead to another extension, with arguably deleterious impact on the economy and financial … Read more
Before getting into today’s post, I wanted to point out this excellent post about the discharge petition by Sarah Binder. I was both embarrassed and relieved when I read it, because it predates and more eloquently states what I did about the practical difficulties with using the discharge petition. Sarah knows her stuff so, as I … Read more
[Edit 10/5/13. Note: When I wrote this, I had not yet read this piece in the Washington Post, which refers to this bill. This doesn’t change the basic math of the post and, indeed, makes its points arguably even more tangible.] A few people (fewer than I would have expected) have mentioned the possibility of … Read more
So, the shutdown continues. Indeed, it seems to me that the collective conscience has accepted that the shutdown will continue until mid-October, when we can get a “two-for-one” CR-Debt Ceiling deal. Kind of makes sense, in a sad way. Anyway, the topic of today’s post is the uncomfortable position of Speaker John Boehner, who may … Read more
The US federal government is currently “closed” because the Democratic and Republican parties cannot agree to what seems to be a Pareto optimal (i.e., unanimously preferred) policy (namely, the government being “open”). I will dispense with current events and turn immediately to the question of “why?” This shutdown is arguably different than the most recent (1995-96) … Read more
So, as you might very well have read (and probably predicted): the House has attempted to present President Obama with the facile Faustian bargain of averting government shutdown by agreeing to repeal the Affordability Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”). I have ideas about how this is even more absolutely ridiculous (from a strategic perspective) for … Read more
When President Obama requested Congressional authorization for military intervention in Syria, he not only “scored one for the Constitution,” he also—not coincidentally—scored one for his party. First of all, he provided an opportunity for the GOP to lay bare the division within their ranks: on this dimension, there are effectively “I hate Obama, so I … Read more