filibuster

"But there's one big obstacle - almost as big as the rest put together - that has no pluses whatsoever, and that we don't have to be stuck with: the arsenal of senatorial death rays that goes by the quaint name of filibuster." So wrote Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker, and he joins us in studio to discuss the various proposals on the table to end abuse of the filibuster--or end the filibuster entirely. He also discusses the Constitutional basis -- or lack thereof -- of the filibuster, and argues that simple majority rule is the best for everyone.

"I think deal is totally rotten, I think it's the best rotten deal the Democrats could've gotten," says Richard Kim of The Nation of Obama's tax cut compromise. His colleague Betsy Reed, though, notes that by compromising now, heading into an even more conservative Congress, Democrats are setting themselves up for far worse deals in the future--"Where are we going to draw the line ultimately?"Betsy and Richard join us in studio to discuss the tax cut compromise, the health care bill, Bernie Sanders' eight-and-a-half-hour speech before the Senate, and strategies for progressive organizing under a Republican House and narrow Democratic majority in the Senate."It felt like the relationship between state and citizen had totally broken down, like there was no order left," says New Statesman journalist Laurie Penny of the Parliament Square protest last week, as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition voted to pass legislation that may effectively triple the cost of higher education in the UK. While Parliament voted, student protesters were shoved and batoned by police, and Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles found themselves in the middle of the mess.Laurie joins us once again via Skype from London to talk about the protests, the vote, why the student movement is a definining moment for this generation of British youth--and once again, what we can learn from it and apply here."There is a war going on in this country, and I am not referring to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am talking about a war being waged by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country against the working families of the United States of America, against the disappearing and shrinking middle class of our country."That was just one of many, many things Senator Bernie Sanders said on Friday over the course of his eight and a half hours standing on the Senate floor, giving a speech that might not have technically been a filibuster, but certainly served to remind progressives what it looks like when someone fights for their rights. We can't air it all, but we do have a selection from the Senator's speech for you.

"Ann Coulter hasn't beheaded anybody, I'm glad that's the new marker for extremism," says Markos Moulitsas of criticism of his new book, American Taliban. To the argument that comparing the American Right to the Taliban is unfair and hyperbolic, Markos notes that you don't have to go too far back in U.S. history to find lynchings and other forms of violence used in service of repressive ideas. Markos joins Laura in studio to talk about the book, the Democrats' disdain for their progressive base, the problems with the filibuster, and much more. What's all this talk about being in a "race" when it comes to education? Does the "Race to the Top" framing change anything? And what's all of this racing really doing for our kids? This week's featured documentary, Race to Nowhere, takes a look at just what's going on with our schools, and whether putting a lot of pressure on kids to ace constant tests and load themselves with work is actually producing happy, well-educated people. "If Democrats are in trouble, we don't have to presume they are in trouble because they did too much." So says John Nichols, who sat down with Laura in Wisconsin, at Fighting Bob Fest, and discussed progressive congresspeople who have been stalwarts in Washington since their election on a wave of anti-Bush feeling--and who face tough races.

The death in the Senate of the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill this week, Charles Komanoff argues, "clears the way for genuine solutions to global warming­­—solutions that ordinary Americans can understand and support." But many others, including David Roberts of Grist.org, say that no climate bill will pass while certain structural roadblocks remain: chief among them, the need for a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. Could better policies rally enough public support to defeat the massive special interests allied against climate legislation? Or do we need to face facts and defeat the filibuster before we can get any legislation through at all? Komanoff and Roberts join us to debate the best way forward for the environmental movement--and for all progressives who want to see good bills become law.