Booman Tribune

Coburn's Stupid Stunt

by BooMan
Tue Nov 17th, 2009 at 02:15:39 PM EST

You may have seen a senator on CSPAN ask for unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of a bill and consider the bill as read. The key term there is 'unanimous consent.' Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma intends to deny his consent for this on the health care bill. He wants the clerk to read the entire bill, which will be over 1,000 pages. That's his right, but he needs to keep his Republican colleagues on the floor at all times to prevent a motion from passing to end the reading of the bill. Coburn isn't actually that popular with his own caucus. For example, he introduced a motion to recommit the military construction appropriations bill yesterday, and he only got 24 votes for it (including Evan Bayh and Claire McCaskill). So, not including himself, Coburn only won 21 Republican votes for his motion, with 19 Republicans telling him to mind his manners. It's a good question whether or not he'll be able to intimidate his colleagues into spending their entire weekend on the Senate floor to assist him in what is really just a cheap stunt.

The idea, I guess, is that the American people will spend their weekend watching CSPAN, and they'll get increasingly outraged at the size of the health care bill as the reading of it goes on and on and on. A more likely scenario is that the American people will only hear about this on the nightly news, and they'll think Tom Coburn is an asshole. As for Coburn's Republican colleagues, they already think that.



Display:
And David Waldman tells us how this whole thing will roll.
by BooMan on Tue Nov 17th, 2009 at 02:29:37 PM EST
Heh, heh.  I read David Waldman's piece.

I can envision the unlikely dress rehearsal for filbuster, with Democrats assigned to ask for unanimous consent when Republicans flag and Democrats objecting to motions to adjourn.  Oh, and just to make things interesting, the Democrats could strategize to have a 3 AM quorum call.

Actually, reading the bill will not take as long as the number of pages might suggest.  A page is a fraction of 8 1/2 x 11, the margins are large, it's set in a large font and double-spaced.  And highly referenced to existing law.  Now, requiring that all those references be read--that could burn some time.

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

by TarheelDem on Tue Nov 17th, 2009 at 02:55:32 PM EST


Display:
Go to: [ Booman Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]
Menu
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password





Find textbooks at Alibris!

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES

Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos
by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.


Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")



Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)


Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)


"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen


The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review


BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual

$79.95 * Sale: $59.95


Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)


The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!


The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan


Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----


Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review


Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey


1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus



Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"


Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)


The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

by Madeline Levine


Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com

:





We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Alibris - Books You Thought You'd Never Find
Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:
www.Patagonia.com


Listed on BlogShares

© 2009 Booman Tribune