Month: February 2015

Obama Supports Ending Senate Filibuster

Buck Banks

Probably the one thing that we could change without a constitutional amendment that would make a difference here would be the elimination of the routine use of the filibuster in the Senate. Because I think that does, in an era in which the parties are more polarized, it almost ensures greater gridlock and less clarity in terms of the positions of the parties. There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires it.

— President Obama, telling Vox the U.S. Senate should eliminate the filibuster.

Hispanics More Concerned About Climate Change

Buck Banks

54%

Of Hispanic respondents rated global warming as extremely or very important to them personally, compared with 37 percent of whites, according to a Stanford University poll. Sixty-seven percent of Hispanics said they would be hurt personally to a significant degree if nothing was done to reduce global warming, compared with half of whites. And 63 percent of Hispanics said the federal government should act broadly to address global warming, compared with 49 percent of whites.

Jindal Against GOP Limiting Debates

Buck Banks

I know there is a lot of concern, especially in this town among Republican party leaders. There’s this ideal of theirs, this idealistic belief, that if we could just have fewer debates, if we could have a gentler kinder nominating process that would be good for the party and good for the nominee. Well you know what? Democracy is messy.

— Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (D), dismissing “the Republican National Committee’s efforts to reduce the number of debates in the Republican presidential primary, and to shorten the primary process, calling the RNC’s changes futile,” Yahoo News reports.

Bloomberg Calls Legalizing Pot ‘Stupid’

Buck Banks

What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been? I couldn’t feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it’s no different than alcohol. It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that’s happening across our country.

— Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, blasting Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana as stupid, the Aspen Times reports.

Is Brian Williams Done as NBC’s National News Anchor?

Buck Banks

Nobody can say Williams doesn’t deserve the scrutiny he’s now facing. If a politician, corporate leader, university professor or prominent clergyman made similarly inaccurate claims, the press would be digging their professional graves with backhoes… Now the once respected anchor has become a national punching-bag, as Twitter nation, comedians and wise guys have taken to mocking him. How long Williams can take the abuse depends on how much more his critics dig up on him.

— Jack Shafer, writing for Politico.