‘Nuclear’ Summer for the Senate?
May 21, 2013
Meet the 112th
With more chatter that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., may move forward with changing the Senate’s rules regarding nominations, there’s quite a conversation among Senate process experts about the “nuclear option.” More

How bad would the nuclear option fallout be?
May 20, 2013
The Monkey Cage
I appreciate Jon Bernstein’s nuanced and thoughtful response on the credibility of minority party threats to go nuclear were the majority to employ the nuclear option. He asks the critical question: “After majority-imposed reform is imposed, does it makes sense to carry out that threat?” More

Senator Rand Paul"s Filibuster: Some History and Context
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
Richard A. Arenberg was an aide to three United States Senators: Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts, George Mitchell of Maine, and Carl Levin of Michigan (all Democrats). He teaches at Brown University and is the author with Parliamentarian Emeritus of the United States Senate Robert B. Dove of Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate. We asked Arenberg about Senator Rand Paul's current effort to filibuster President Obama's nomination of John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency. More

Professor Richard Arenberg a Finalist for Foreword Reviews Book of the Year
May 14, 2013
Taubman Center News
Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate written by Richard Arenberg, adjunct lecturer in public policy, and U.S. Parliamentarian Emeritus Robert Dole has been named a finalist for Foreword Reviews Magazine Book of the Year in Political Science. More

Guns and the Filibuster
May 13, 2013
The Hill
Vice President Biden intoned, “On this vote, the yeas are 54, the nays are 46. Under the previous order requiring 60 votes, the amendment is not agreed to.” Moments later, from the gallery, Patricia Maisch, survivor of the horrific Tucson shooting, shouted at the senators below, “Shame on you!” More

Richard Arenberg interview on The Inner Loop
May 9, 2013
WASC Radio
Richard Arenberg interview on The Inner Loop with Howard Marlowe
Season 4: Episode 2 - Defense, Defense Listen

Filibuster Reform 2013: What Happened
March 21, 2013
The Bipartisan Policy Committee
Senator Tom Udall, Richard Arenberg (Brown University), Sarah Binder (George Washington University), Alan Frumin (Former Senate Parliamentarian), John Fortier (Moderator), Donald Wolfensberger (Senior Scholar BPC)
Introduction
Senator Udall's address
Panel discussion
Q & A

Richard Arenberg Defends the Filibuster
March 11, 2013
The Monkey Cage
Discussing the recent Rand Paul filibuster, Sarah Binder approvingly quotes Ezra Klein who argues, “When Senate institutionalists wax rhapsodic about the upper chamber, they talk about the filibuster’s cherished role in slowing down the majority and permitting passionate minorities to be heard. That is a valuable endeavor!” More

More Support for the Filibuster
March 8, 2013
The Daily Banter
Richard A. Arenberg has written a much more eloquent defense of the filibuster than mine. He is a former Senate staffer for Senators Paul Tsongas, Carl Levin and George Mitchel More

Senator Rand Paul's Filibuster: Some History and Context
March 7, 2013
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
Richard A. Arenberg was an aide to three United States Senators: Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts, George Mitchell of Maine, and Carl Levin of Michigan (all Democrats). He teaches at Brown University and is the author with Parliamentarian Emeritus of the United States Senate Robert B. Dove of Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate. We asked Arenberg about Senator Rand Paul's current effort to filibuster President Obama's nomination of John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency. More

The Nuclear Option, the Law of the Senate and the Conscientious Senator
March 2, 2013
Point of Order
The “nuclear option” (also sometimes called the “constitutional option”) may be defined as the use of a parliamentary ruling to declare the Senate rules unconstitutional insofar as they require a supermajority to end debate on a proposed change to the rules. If such a ruling were upheld by a simple majority, it would no longer be possible for a minority of senators to block rules changes (depending on the scope of the ruling, either at the beginning of a Congress or at any time). This would effectively end the (allegedly) unconstitutional entrenchment of the Senate rules claimed by the signatories to the December 12 legal scholar letter. More

Says of a failed cloture vote on nominating Chuck Hagel for defense secretary: "This is not a filibuster."
February 18, 2013
Politifact
Some Republicans in the U.S. Senate aren’t very happy that their old colleague, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, has now been nominated to be President Barack Obama’s defense secretary. More

Senate Puzzler for your Sunday morning
February 17, 2013
The Monkey Cage
Three cheers to Wonkblog for starting our Sunday morning with a little Senate parliamentary puzzle. Dylan Matthews gets us going by noting Majority Leader Harry Reid’s procedural move this past Thursday. After seeing that the cloture vote would fail to cut off debate on the motion to confirm Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department, Reid switched his vote to oppose cloture. More

The move to reform the filibuster
January 28, 2013
The New Yorker
A key promise of President Barack Obama’s first term was to pass the DREAM Act, which would grant the foreign-born children of undocumented immigrants a path to permanent-resident status if they had attended college or served in the U.S. military. More

The “nuclear option” for filibuster reform is no option at all
January 8, 2013
Salon
In recent years, Congress has achieved several unprecedented failures. Since 2007, an estimated 391 filibusters forced cloture votes. Compare that to only 49 cloture votes between 1919 and 1970. In the 112th Congress alone, members of Congress have accomplished the passage of a mere 219 bills, many of which were housekeeping measures such as naming post office buildings or extending existing laws. This output has set the record as the least productive Congress in record-keeping history, including the 80th congress in 1947, infamously known as the “Do Nothing Congress.” More

Filibustering the filibuster
January 2, 2013
Politico
The distinguishing feature of the Senate for more than 200 years has been the protection of minority rights balanced with majority rule. The foundation of that protection has been unlimited debate and unfettered amendment. Unlike the House of Representatives where the majority works its will, limits debate and often permits no amendments, in the Senate the minority can speak and offer its amendments. More

Guest post: How should Congress approach filibuster reform?
January 2, 2013
Indiana University Press Blog
The understandable focus on the “fiscal cliff” negotiations on Capitol Hill has obscured a more far-reaching historical crisis in the Senate. Tomorrow the new Congress will come to grips with the filibuster reform debate which has been raging over the past several weeks slightly off the public’s radar. More

Professor Bruhl and Senate Continuity
December 28, 2012
Point of Order
As explained by Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove in Defending the Filibuster 124-25 (2012), many of the senators who shared Walsh’s goal of reforming Senate rules nevertheless made clear “they did not support Senator Walsh’s contention that the rules could be changed by a simple majority at the start of a Congress.” More

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Congressional Record
December 20, 2012

I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone that the Senate, once famed as the world’s greatest deliberative body, has become paralyzed. At the heart of that paralysis is a change in the use of the filibuster. More

WZON: The Pulse Morning Show
December 18, 2012

The filibuster is getting a bad rap. At least that's the opinion of the authors of "Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate". the book's co-authors have backgrounds in very different political ideologies, but they agree on one thing: the filibuster serves a valid purpose, and with some tweaking, it should remain an integral part of our legislative process. We spoke with Richard Arenberg, who brings 34 years of experience on Capitol Hill to his side of the discussion. More

The Nuclear Option
December 17, 2012
The Morning Side Post
Momentum for Senate filibuster reform is stronger than ever. But is the proposed cure worse than the disease? More

Is majority rules change in the Senate really a 'slippery slope'?
December 12, 2012
Daily Kos

It should come as no surprise to you that I've got some disagreements with the way Richard Arenberg, co-author of Defending the Filibuster, characterizes some of the history and issues surrounding the current filibuster reform debate. He's been very prolific of late, and I'd like to address some of the objections he raises. More

Finesse Needed for Filibuster Reform: The Real Danger is Not What's Been Proposed, but How Reformers Seek to Make Those Changes
December 10, 2012
Portland Press Herald

This week, in his strongest statement yet, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared, "We're going to change the rules." Maine's senators are poised to play a pivotal role. Reid is referring to reforms to the filibuster rules that have served as the guarantor of the Senate's unique role in balancing minority rights with majority rule. Speech is unlimited and amendments are unfettered. By contrast, in the House debate is strictly limited and often no amendments are permitted. More

Six Reasons Up with Chris Hayes is a Must-Watch for Progressives and All Wonks
December 7, 2012
Daily Kos

Up With Chris Hayes is the Anti-Meet the Press. Chris Hayes is what David Gregory would be in a media world that provided rational, intelligent discussion instead of warmed over CW, right wing or phony centrist propaganda and a platform for bizarre characters like Newt Gingrich and Liz Cheney. Below are just some of the reasons why it's a can't miss show for us here at Daily Kos. More

Today in Filibuster Debate
December 3, 2012

One more from the NYT "Room for Debate" feature. Richard Arenberg doesn't mind the relatively mild reforms that Democratic Senators are talking about, but strongly objects to the process: "The crux of the problem is that once the precedent is established that a simple majority can change the rules, it can be done at any time. It is inevitable that within a short period of time, the majority will do what majorities do: take control."More

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Congressional Record
December 3, 2012

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to put into the record an article by Richard Arenberg, who worked on the Senate and House staffs for 30 or 40 years. We find that people who have worked in the Senate and Leave it, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, seem to feel the same way. More

Do Filibusters Stall the Senate or Give It Purpose?
December 3, 2012
The New York Times

Many senators are troubled by Republicans’ increasing use of filibusters to stall legislation and prevent debate. But even some of them are wary of the “nuclear option” to change the rules: It would allow the vice president and a simple majority to revise the rules, a precedent that today’s majority party might regret someday when it became the minority again. More

In Defense of the Filibuster
December, 2012
Brown Alumni Magazine

If you’re tired of the political gridlock in Washington, D.C., you might think getting rid of the filibuster would be a good idea. Brown political scientist Richard Arenberg and Georgetown’s Robert Dove say: Think again. Although the filibuster is now used to block legislation in the U.S. Senate more often than ever before, Arenberg and Dove argue in their new book, Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate, that the tactic is actually a sign of a healthy democracy. Here, Arenberg explains why. More

Motions to Proceed: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
November 29, 2012
The Monkey Cage

I spent 34 years working on Capitol Hill, including for Majority Leader Mitchell. It has always been my belief that the filibuster on the motion to proceed adds little value. The filibuster is important in the Senate because it defends minority rights and this is tied to the substance of debate and amendment. More

GOP to Reid on filibuster rules: Do you really want to have this fight right now?
November 26, 2012
Hotair

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bid to alter Senate rules to limit the tools at the minority party’s disposal is perhaps one of his most hypocritical, ill-fated attempts at ‘leadership’ yet, and that’s saying something. Way back when, during the days of the Democratic minority of yesteryear, he was vehemently opposed to measures that would curtail the Senate’s filibuster options — but now that those dastardly Republicans have ostensibly crossed some imaginary line of what he deems to be too much filibustering, he’s all too eager to cut down on the minority party’s powers. More

The 'Nuclear Option,' Then and Now
November 26, 2012
Powerline

I don’t recall any of us commenting on the plan of Senate Democrats to reform, and perhaps end, the filibuster. But Harry Reid and his crew seem prepared to push for major changes in the filibuster come January. If they do, it will trigger quite a battle and probably extinguish whatever chances exist for cooperation between congressional Democrats and Republicans. More

Senate Dems Hypocritically Embrace Nuclear Option
November 27, 2012
Investors Business Daily

Changing the filibuster rule come January has suddenly become a top priority for Senate Democrats who want to help their re-elected president complete his fundamental transformation of America. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday blasted Democratic-led efforts to reform the filibuster, something the Democrats once vehemently opposed but which Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised to bring up in the next Congress, fearing the Republicans will dig in to block President Obama's agenda. More

Are the Effects of Senate Rules Changes Predictable?
November 21, 2012
The Monkey Cage

Sarah Binder, Greg Koger and Steven Smith as usual contribute valuable and insightful views about the current filibuster reform debate. I share the view put forward by Greg and Sarah that the “Mr. Smith Talking Filibuster” proposals put forward by Senators Merkeley, Udall, and Senator-Elect Warren are not likely to produce the results they desire. In fact, majority leaders can and have forced filibusterers to speak under existing rules. More

Filibuster reform: Avoid the ‘nuclear option’
November 14, 2012
Washington Post

Majority Leader Harry Reid, frustrated by abuse of the filibuster, has vowed to change the Senate’s rule on the first day of the new Congress.
If he chooses to invoke the “constitutional option” — the assertion that the Senate can, on the first day of a session, change its rules by a majority vote — he will be heading down a slippery slope that the current president of the Senate, Vice President Biden, once excoriated as an abuse of power by a majority party. More

An Electoral Tie Could Bind the Senate
October 29, 2012
Roll Call

One of Washington’s favorite parlor games is conjecturing about the remote possibility of an Electoral College tie. Prognosticators have come up with various maps and scenarios under which the election would result in a 269-269 deadlock, which would vest the responsibility of choosing the country’s leaders squarely in what polls say is one of the least popular institutions in the country — Congress. More

Filibuster or bust? Reformers see a (small) window
October 23, 2012
Washington Post Blog

Whoever wins the White House, there will be appointments, judicial nominations and legislation a-plenty heading to Congress — and one thing to watch for is early action in the Senate on filibuster reform. Proponents of overhauling the curious Senate custom see a window of opportunity, but it’s a narrow one with plenty of chances to cloud up. More

Filibuster Reform: Not All That It’s Cracked Up To Be
October 17, 2012
Congressional Institute
Not long ago, Senator Tom Harkin wrote a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, disputing an opinion piece that claimed no one has a plan to improve the efficiency of the Senate. The Senator himself proposed a plan: Abolish the filibuster. Eliminating this parliamentary maneuver, the Senator writes, will make the body more efficient and “also lead to more compromise in the Senate.” More

Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate
October 17, 2012
Foreward Reviews

In Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate, longtime Senate experts Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove argue that while the filibuster and other Senate rules have undoubtedly been severely abused in recent years, the fault lies with the abusers and not the filibuster itself. Rather, they convincingly argue that the ability to extend debate is a valuable check on the majority party, one that has helped preserve the Senate as a more moderate, careful body than the House of Representatives. More

The Soul of the Senate
October 5, 2012
Huffpost Live

Five Stars for Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate
September 24, 2012
Joanna Louise Johnson

I had concerns about the filibuster prior to reading Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate, by Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove, but they were all neatly laid to rest. To put it simply, democracy requires respect for the minority, and the filibuster is one of a precious few mechanisms making that possible. Can use of the filibuster be annoying? If it isn’t your side using it, then yes, of course. It’s like people making out on the subway: disgusting when it’s them, but perfect and beautiful when it’s you. Nobody said democracy would be easy. Clearly written and amply supported, DEFENDING THE FILIBUSTER is a must-read for all Americans, especially during these highly contentious times. More

Richard Arenberg: Defending the filibuster
August 23, 2012
Brown University
Courtney Coelho
In Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate, political scientists and former Senate staffers Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove argue that the solution to recent criticism of the filibuster is not to do away with it. Arenberg speaks with Courtney Coelho about the history of Senate debate, how its use has been distorted in recent years and why reforms, not abolishment, are key to preserving Senate minority rights. More

Reforming the Senate without a vote? My (double) take
August 20, 2012
The Monkey Cage
Sarah Binder
I am looking forward to reading Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove’s new book, Defending the Filibuster, which comes out tomorrow. Niels Lesniewski’s preview in Roll Call provides a glimpse of some of the authors’ arguments. First, they oppose what many call “reform-by-ruling,” or altering Senate rules by majority vote at the start of a Congress. (Some also refer to this approach to reform as the “Constitutional option.”) Second, Lesniewski notes that the authors support a range of changes to the Senate’s Rule 22, so long as regular order is followed in changing the rules. More

How to reform the filibuster without taking a vote
August 20, 2012
Washington Post
As its title suggests, “Defending the Filibuster” maintains that the much-maligned Senate procedure is crucial to protecting the minority and insuring “stability and deliberation in government,” according to the book description. But Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove also offer some suggestions for reform around the edges.More

Senate Experts Argue to Save the Filibuster, Sort Of
August 18, 2012
Roll Call
Niels Lesniewski
Advocates and opponents of changing the Senate rules will find something to like in a new book hitting shelves next week that documents the history of filibusters. In "Defending the Filibuster," Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove outline their case for substantive reform without undermining the chamber.

The bipartisan duo push the case against an effort led by relative Senate newcomers Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to change the chamber's rules by a simple majority vote at the beginning of a new Congress. More

Two Senate veterans stand up for a little-understood and much-maligned legislative tactic.
August 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews
For more than a century, filibusters have been attacked as undemocratic, unconstitutional, obstructionist barriers to the work of the Senate, yet they have resisted all but the most tepid attempts at reform or elimination. Old Senate hands Arenberg, who served as an aide to three senators, and Dove, the body’s parliamentarian emeritus, rejoice in that fact in this brief celebration of each senator’s right to nearly unlimited debate. More

Defending the Filibuster
August 12, 2012
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Debate Over the Senate's Use of the Filibuster
June 23, 2012
NPR
Diane Rehm's Show Listen

An effective Senate needs filibusters
June 13, 2012
Boston Globe
RICHARD A. ARENBERG

As the inept vice president on HBO’s “Veep,” Julia Lewis-Dreyfus is fighting for a never quite defined filibuster reform bill. It’s the perfect foil for comedy, frustratingly unattainable, but directed at a target apparently richly deserving of ridicule.

In the real world, Majority Leader Harry Reid, frustrated by the latest Republican filibuster, recently apologized for failing to support filibuster reform. In addition, Common Cause has filed a lawsuit claiming that Rule XXII, which requires 60 votes to cut off a filibuster, is unconstitutional. The suit claims, “The principle of majority rule is so basic to the concept of a democratically elected legislative body that it did not need to be expressly stated in the Constitution.” MORE

Five Best Columns
June 12, 2012
The Atlantic Wire
Arenberg resists the growing calls to eliminate the filibuster from the Senate in light of its overuse in recent years. He makes the case that the filibuster is essential to the Senate's workings. "What we have seen in recent years is bad behavior, no doubt. But the solution for partisan bad behavior is not rewriting the Senate rules." The filibuster requires the majority -- which has huge advantages in advancing legislation, debate, and amendments -- consult the minority. "The House operates by majority rule. What extreme partisanship has meant there is that the majority ignores the minority, the leadership rarely speaks to each other, and the minority is nearly legislatively irrelevant."MORE

Richard Arenberg Interview
June 8, 2012
Louise Schiavone Iterview

Sunday Dialogue: Getting Judges Confirmed
March 3, 2012
New York Times
It is tempting when confronted with the obstructionist behavior of the current Senate minority to focus on rewriting the Senate’s rules so that the majority can work its will. This would, if successful, treat the symptom but ignore the disease. The disease is a deeply polarized and inflexible political environment that frustrates the spirit of constructive compromise a vibrant democracy demands. MORE

Don't Rewire Filibuster Rules
January 24, 2012
The Hill
It is hard to disagree with the headline on Bill Galston and Mark McKinnon’s op-ed in The Hill on Jan. 17: “Time for up-or-down votes in Senate on appointees.” The recent, highly partisan tit-for-tat demeans senators and the president, intensifies the polarization of the parties and deepens the public’s cynicism about Washington. MORE

Senate Filibuster is Not the Problem
December 16, 2011
Bangor Daily News
If the thrust of the BDN’s Dec. 14 editorial “Senate filibuster’s sad, maddening history” is that Senate Republicans holding the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s first director hostage is sad and maddening, I agree. MORE