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Blogger Report on Connected Today

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Mon Apr 25, 2005 at 05:01:08 PM EST
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Thanks to Ian of The Political Teen for putting up the video of today's Blogger Report on MSNBC's Connected Coast to Coast which I narrated. Here's what was featured (the show covers both sides):

The Nuclear Option:

  • Chris Bowers at MyDD writes about a blogger conference call with Sen. Harry Reid today during which he dispelled the myth that Democrats will shut down the Senate if they don’t get their way on the “nuclear option.” Rather, Chris writes, they will stop allowing Republicans to set the legislative agenda and insist on introducing and having votes on their own bills.

  • Neal Boortz wrote that Democrats want to retain the filibuster because they need activist judges since they can't get anything passed in Congress.

Arianna Huffington's Celebrity Blog Project:

  • Poli Blogger thinks celebrity bloggers will lose interest quickly.
  • Ann Althouse asks how we'll know if it's the celebrity or an assistant writing the blog.

The Dangers of E-Mail and Multi-tasking

  • Kevin Drum of Political Animal writes about a new British study that finds that people's IQ drops more sharply after reading e-mail and multi-tasking at work than it does after they smoke marijuana.
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    Blogger Report on Connected Today | 5 comments (5 topical)
    Re: Blogger Report on Connected Today (none / 0) (#1)
    by Darryl Pearce on Mon Apr 25, 2005 at 09:07:51 PM EST
    Well, hey! You look great even if my internet connection makes you look like a witness whose identity is being "protected" by overzealous pixelation.

    Re: Blogger Report on Connected Today (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Apr 25, 2005 at 11:18:00 PM EST
    conference call with Sen. Harry Reid today during which he dispelled the myth that Democrats will shut down the Senate if they don’t get their way on the “nuclear option.” My understanding isn't that this was a myth, but that the Dems have changed their strategy. The original plan regarding bringing Senate business to a crawl/standstil has been around way too long for it to have merely been a myth. If it had merely been a myth, Reid would have quashed it much sooner. Much more likely that the Dems made a strategic decision that a Senate shutdown might be viewed by the American people as dimly as the GOP's nuclear option is.

    Re: Blogger Report on Connected Today (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Apr 25, 2005 at 11:25:32 PM EST
    In fact, Reid himself is where this supposed "myth" came from, in his letter of March 15 to Frist:
    The Senate conducts most of its business by cooperation and consent. The minority provides that consent with the expectation that the courtesies it extends to the majority will be met with respect for minority rights. And no Senate right is more fundamental than the right to debate. Should the majority choose to break the rules that give us that right, the majority should not expect to receive cooperation from the minority in the conduct of Senate business.
    Of course Democrats would never block legislation vital to our troops or other national security interests, and we will help ensure that critical government services continue to function for the American people. Beyond that very limited scope, however, we will be reluctant to enter into any consent agreement that facilitates Senate activities, even on routine matters. Just this year we passed the class action and bankruptcy bills under procedures negotiated in good faith between the majority and the minority. We would decline to provide such cooperation in the future if you implement the nuclear option.
    So the slowdown/shutdown was never a myth. Reid himself threatened it.

    Re: Blogger Report on Connected Today (none / 0) (#4)
    by Patrick on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 08:57:50 AM EST
    So the slowdown/shutdown was never a myth. Reid himself threatened it.
    It's exactly what he said. The Senate minority typically lets the majority decide what laws will be voted upon. What they are saying is that they will now violate that agreement if the Republicans violate their part.

    Re: Blogger Report on Connected Today (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 26, 2005 at 10:48:25 AM EST
    The Senate minority typically lets the majority decide what laws will be voted upon. What they are saying is that they will now violate that agreement if the Republicans violate their part. That's what he's saying now. It isn't what he said in March. Read the letter he sent to Frist. What he threatened in March was to stop letting Senate business be done on a "consent" basis -- which would mean various pieces of Senate business would have to be specifically debated and considered (even if it were just some routine procedural thing) rather than moving along on the basis of traditional consent methods. That's very different from what Reid is saying now.

    Blogger Report on Connected Today | 5 comments (5 topical)