Norman Ornstein
| Jan. 17, 2013, 5:55 p.m.
I am a firm believer in the advise and consent role of the Senate on important executive confirmations. A careful look at the qualifications, temperament, moral character and background of key officials is a good thing. It makes a president more careful when he considers nominations, it provides for an airing of policy positions and differences, and it enables senators to give messages to an administration about their expectations for implementation of policies and legislation they have enacted or oversee.
Norman Ornstein
| Dec. 12, 2012, 6:52 p.m.
I have been bemused over the past few weeks by the often breathless commentary and analysis on the ins and outs of the fiscal cliff negotiations.
Norman Ornstein
| Dec. 5, 2012, 6:51 p.m.
First, a word about Sen. Warren B. Rudman.
Norman Ornstein
| Nov. 28, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
Frustration over abuse of the filibuster reached a critical point last year, and changing the rules became a cause backed by a growing number of Democratic senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Now that Democrats have gained two seats, there is clearly majority support for an overhaul, and several new members have indicated it is a priority.
Norman Ornstein
| Nov. 8, 2012, Midnight
As I write, the elections are not over — but by the time you read this, voters will have chosen the 113th Congress. The 112th, of course, is far from finished; it will be back next week, like a new installment of “Friday the 13th,” to finish unfinished business (farm bill, anyone?) and to grapple with the “fiscal cliff.”
Norman Ornstein
| Nov. 1, 2012, Midnight
What if Hurricane Sandy had taken place one week later? What would happen if the elections were disrupted seriously in a number of states, to a point where polling places could not open and people could not travel to the polls?
Norman Ornstein
| Oct. 25, 2012, Midnight
Mitt Romney’s tax and jobs policies have seen extensive examinations in recent days. In the debates and elsewhere, there have been lively exchanges on the Romney/Ryan plan to have insurance exchanges and premium support for Medicare.
Norman Ornstein
| Oct. 18, 2012, Midnight
The country, at least the politically sentient part, has been transfixed by the presidential and vice presidential debates. But actually the most transfixing moment in political debates this year came in a different race, in California, between Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman, two veterans of the House pitted against each another as a consequence of the state’s redistricting.
Norman Ornstein
| Oct. 11, 2012, Midnight
One assertion by Mitt Romney in the presidential debate especially caught my attention. He said he would turn Medicaid into a block grant to the states and that they would “get what they got last year, plus inflation, plus 1 percent.” Sounds reasonable — except when you look at Romney’s other pledges, his support for Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget and what Romney has promised in terms of fiscal restraint overall.
Norman Ornstein
| Oct. 4, 2012, Midnight
The subject of the fiscal cliff is a bit like the old "Perils of Pauline" movie serial. There will be numerous episodes where the country's economy, like Pauline, hangs in the balance - until the next episode.
Norman Ornstein
| Sept. 19, 2012, Midnight
It is hard to think about, or address, anything other than Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's remarkable videotaped comments at a private fundraiser that came to light this week. Never mind his statement that he got no advantage from his rich parents; that the "silver spoon" he was born with was just being born in America (which evoked former Texas Gov. Ann Richard's comment about George H.W. Bush, that he was born on third base and thought he hit a triple).
Norman Ornstein
| Sept. 12, 2012, Midnight
Watching Mitt Romney and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan on talk shows over the weekend left me feeling empty.
Norman Ornstein
| Aug. 1, 2012, Midnight
The farm bill fiasco continues as the August recess approaches, the devastation from drought grows deeper and the House continues to play games, dimming hopes for a bipartisan compromise along the lines of the Senate bill.
Norman Ornstein
| July 25, 2012, Midnight
Last Wednesday, I watched the Senate floor with fascination as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had an extended discussion about where blame lies for the Senate’s obstruction and near-gridlock. Reid, bless him, repeatedly referred to my new book with Thomas Mann, “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks,” along with an edited excerpt that appeared in the Washington Post Outlook section.
Norman Ornstein
| July 18, 2012, Midnight
Who will be able to vote in this year’s pivotal presidential and Congressional elections? That is a key question, and the answer will be shaped by the wave of new laws in states designed to curb and suppress voting in the name of combating voter fraud that has repeatedly been proved to be virtually nonexistent.
Norman Ornstein
| July 11, 2012, Midnight
The Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the 2010 health care law dominated the recess and precipitated the first post-recess action in the House — the renewed vote to repeal the law.
Norman Ornstein
| June 27, 2012, Midnight
I was going to write this week about the post-Supreme Court landscape on health care policy, but the court’s schedule took that one off the table. I thought about covering the farm bill saga or the transportation bill debacle or the showdown over student loan rates or even the court’s decision on union dues that took a narrowly drawn case and had a five-vote majority trample precedent to establish its own political preferences.
Norman Ornstein
| June 20, 2012, Midnight
“I think you’d have to go back to Richard Nixon to find the last time you had group of people both through the campaign and through the power of the federal government really trying to harass and silence critics, and I think they need to be called on it.”
Norman Ornstein
| June 13, 2012, Midnight
Last week, I felt faint signs of hope that the House might, if only in a small way, show that bipartisan deliberation and compromise was still possible. Then it all fell apart.
Norman Ornstein
| June 6, 2012, Midnight
Among the many unresolved issues in Congress, the student loan matter looms large. If Democrats and Republicans don’t find a pay-for, student loan interest rates will double to 6.8 percent on July 1, hitting hard a group of people already staggering under loan burdens.
