Ezra Klein Archive: Congress

How Grover Norquist makes the case for tax increases

In our interview yesterday, Grover Norquist argued that Republicans shouldn’t strike deficit deals with Democrats because the spending cuts never stick but the tax increases always do. I don’t really buy it, but looking at Naftali Bendavid’s description of the deal being developed in the Senate makes me a bit more sympathetic.

By Ezra Klein | March 10, 2011; 3:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Congress, Democrats, Economy, Republicans
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Did John Boehner accidentally make a shutdown more likely?

John Boehner got some plaudits -- including from me -- for permitting an open amendment process on the House spending bill. But as Jon Bernstein notes, that process may have had the unintended consequence of making a government shutdown...

By Ezra Klein | February 24, 2011; 10:54 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Congress
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Does an 'open House' weaken the tea party?

Jon Bernstein wonders whether Speaker John Boehner's use of "open rules" -- which has allowed more than 400 amendments to the spending bill and led to a number of high-profile defeats for both Boehner and the House's more conservative bloc...

By Ezra Klein | February 17, 2011; 11:29 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Congress
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Is John Boehner doing a good job as speaker?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy That was the topic of my segment last night with Rachel Maddow, and I've been thinking about it ever since. In the clip above, Maddow makes a detailed...

By Ezra Klein | February 16, 2011; 5:07 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Congress | Tags: Ezra Klein
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How do legislators learn?

Referring to some comments made by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) about the budget deficit, Jon Bernstein wonders about the job "the Democratic Party policy network" is doing educating its elected officials on the basic facts of public policy. This is...

By Ezra Klein | February 16, 2011; 4:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Congress
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A very smart speech by Speaker Boehner

If you spent the afternoon watching C-SPAN, as I did, you heard applause. A lot of it. Over and over again. And when John Boehner took the podium to be sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives,...

By Ezra Klein | January 5, 2011; 3:02 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (100)
Categories: 2010 Midterms, Congress
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Older Entries in This Category »

Spending is fun, cutting is hard, Ezra Klein , November 17, 2010

Why wait to seat the new Congress?, Dylan Matthews , November 12, 2010

The end of the 'do-something' Congress, Ezra Klein , November 2, 2010

The limits of filibuster reform, Dylan Matthews , October 28, 2010

What kind of speaker will John Boehner be?, Ezra Klein , October 27, 2010

The revolving door in one graph, Ezra Klein , September 24, 2010

Want to know more about lame-duck sessions?, Ezra Klein , September 20, 2010

Welcome back, Congress, Ezra Klein , September 13, 2010

Research Desk investigates: Could Congress still enable reconciliation for next year?, Ezra Klein , August 16, 2010

Research desk graphs: More filibuster data than you know what to do with, Dylan Matthews , July 21, 2010

From the Senate delay case files, Washington Post editor , July 8, 2010

Pricing the Fair Elections Now Act, Washington Post editor , July 8, 2010

Passing the Fair Elections Now Act, Washington Post editor , July 8, 2010

Want to learn about Senate procedure tomorrow?, Ezra Klein , June 24, 2010

How a bill becomes a part of a war supplemental, Ezra Klein , June 7, 2010

Wrapping up Senate reform with Superbill, Washington Post Editors , June 2, 2010

Assessing Senate reform proposals, Part 1, Washington Post Editors , June 2, 2010

Best quote about why Senate reform is needed, Washington Post Editors , June 2, 2010

Guidelines for Senate reform, Washington Post Editors , June 2, 2010

Congress's bipartisan regard for Wall Street money, Ezra Klein , April 21, 2010

Sit down, honey, let's kill some time, Washington Post editor , April 2, 2010

Are policy concessions worth it?, Washington Post editor , April 1, 2010

Would a constitutional convention get it right?, Washington Post editor , April 1, 2010

Times have changed, Ezra Klein , March 31, 2010

The cost of reconciliation, Ezra Klein , March 30, 2010

Could a majoritarian Congress be more bipartisan?, Ezra Klein , March 30, 2010

Are Democrats more disorganized than Republicans?, Ezra Klein , March 29, 2010

What happens when Congress can't do its job?, Ezra Klein , March 29, 2010

Discrediting the legislative process itself, Ezra Klein , March 19, 2010

Could LBJ have passed health-care reform in 2010?, Ezra Klein , March 17, 2010

Explaining deem and pass, Ezra Klein , March 16, 2010

'Unprecedented', Ezra Klein , March 16, 2010

The arms race of rules, Ezra Klein , March 16, 2010

The cap-and-trade context, Ezra Klein , March 11, 2010

The House's filibuster, Ezra Klein , March 8, 2010

Lessons from the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit vote, Ezra Klein , March 8, 2010

How do whips whip?, Ezra Klein , March 5, 2010

Casualties of the reconciliation process, Ezra Klein , March 2, 2010

The Republicans' genius compromise strategy, Ezra Klein , February 24, 2010

The recent history of reconciliation, Ezra Klein , February 24, 2010

Congress is older, whiter, manlier than the rest of America, Ezra Klein , February 10, 2010

Getting real about bill length, Ezra Klein , February 10, 2010

Congress by remote control, Ezra Klein , February 10, 2010

Minority rules, Ezra Klein , February 5, 2010

The problem with the Gang of Six, Ezra Klein , February 4, 2010

The primacy of process, Ezra Klein , February 3, 2010

A good message is not nearly as important as a fast process, Ezra Klein , February 3, 2010

Lamar Alexander: If Obama can't govern with 59 votes, 'it's going to be a long four years', Ezra Klein , February 2, 2010

Getting real about Congress, Ezra Klein , February 1, 2010

How air conditioning created the modern Republican Party, Ezra Klein , January 19, 2010

Congressional inaction isn't an option, Ezra Klein , January 14, 2010

Busy bees, Ezra Klein , January 8, 2010

Cameras and Congress, Ezra Klein , January 8, 2010

Making transparency into a reality, Ezra Klein , January 7, 2010

A more partisan politics with more bipartisan results, Ezra Klein , December 29, 2009

A tale of two Mitches, Ezra Klein , December 11, 2009

Steny Hoyer explains how Newt Gingrich broke Congress, Ezra Klein , December 10, 2009

Hoyer: Deadlocks make Congress 'less relevant every day' , Ezra Klein , December 8, 2009

The neglected House, Ezra Klein , November 30, 2009

Let Congress be Congress again, Ezra Klein , November 24, 2009

Four ways to end the filibuster, Ezra Klein , November 11, 2009

Can Congress control costs?, Ezra Klein , November 6, 2009

America's unusually democratic democracy, Ezra Klein , October 22, 2009

Don't Read The Bill!, Ezra Klein , September 25, 2009

The Primacy of Congress, Ezra Klein , September 4, 2009

Do Populous States Have Liberal Senators?, Ezra Klein , August 10, 2009

Small State, Big State; Red State, Blue State?, Ezra Klein , August 10, 2009

How Do You Kill the Filibuster?, Ezra Klein , August 6, 2009

Filibuster Nation, Ezra Klein , August 5, 2009

Can Democrats Have a 50-Vote Senate?, Ezra Klein , August 3, 2009

Am I a Radical?, Ezra Klein , July 31, 2009

Misremembering the Filibuster, Ezra Klein , July 31, 2009

Give Congress a Fish and it Will Eat for a Day..., Ezra Klein , July 30, 2009

They Might Be Giants -- Or They Might Not Be, Ezra Klein , July 28, 2009

Jim Horney Walks You Through Conference Committee, Ezra Klein , July 21, 2009

Why Republicans Fear Henry Waxman, Ezra Klein , May 22, 2009

Even the Committee on Science and Technology Wants a Piece of the Financial Crisis, Ezra Klein , May 20, 2009

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