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Subscribe to RSSIn a widely expected move, independent Senator-elect Angus King of Maine announced Wednesday that he will join the Democratic Senate caucus, bringing the Democrats to a 55-senator majority in the new Congress, which convenes in January.
A former governor of Maine, King ran as an independent to fill the Senate seat being vacated by centrist Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Sen.-elect Angus King, I-Maine, center, the former governor of Maine, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13,2012.
“The outcome of last week’s elections in some ways makes this decision relatively easy,” King told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference. “In a situation where one party has a clear majority and effectiveness is an important criteria, affiliating with the majority makes the most sense. The majority has more committee slots to fill, has more control over what bills get considered and more control over the Senate’s schedule.”
King said he’d conferred with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, a Maine Democrat, before making his decision, but not with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. He did confer with Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the Senate GOP conference vice chairman.
He said his conversations with Reid and with independent senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucus with the Democrats, reassured him that “my independence would be respected and that no party-line commitment would be required or expected.”
King said he’d asked Reid for a spot on the Senate Finance Committee, its tax-writing panel, “but there were no promises made… He pointed out to me that it took Sen. Kerry 14 years to get on the Finance Committee so it might be somewhat unlikely for a first-year senator to achieve that.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joins Morning Joe to discuss if he believes Senate and House Republicans will be more willing to negotiate a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff than they were in 2011.
He said that “by associating myself with one side I am not in automatic opposition to the other.”
On the question of the Senate filibuster rule -- which allows the minority party to insist on 60 votes before a bill can move forward or a nomination come up for vote -- King said that although he represents a small state and the filibuster is “designed to protect the interests of small states,” that “its use in recent years has been excessive and I hope to talk with other senators who are more expert in this matter to find a solution that would limit its use as a tactic of delay and prohibiting action, but at the same time protect the interests of the states."
Since President Barack Obama was first elected, Republicans have used the filibuster to stymie some of his nominees and to make it impossible to enact tax increases proposed by the Democrats.
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King is a RAT thru and thru. he wants a seat on the finance committee to keep the RATs tax-and-spend policy in effect. king's upset over the filibuster but not upset over 16+trillion dollar budget except to spend, spend, spend, increase taxes, spend, spend, spend, increase taxes, spend, etc.
King just wants to ensure a whole lot of earmarks head back to ME, just another Spendaholic at the expense of the hard working taxpayers.
$16+ trillion budget? You mean "debt."
The debt is important, but not as important as "jobs." If the private sector won't hire, thenj let the government hire and put the unemployed to work on needed infrastructure projects.
Why don't we just pay people (we being taxpayers) to dig ditches and fill them back in. They will be working.
Or, why don't I just run down the street and break every business window. We'll employ people who replace windows.
Oh yeah, it isn't an efficient use of resources. Having taxpayers fund make-work projects or industries that are not in market demand is a waste of money.
King said he’d asked Reid for a spot on the Senate Finance Committee, its tax-writing panel, “but there were no promises made… He pointed out to me that it took Sen. Kerry 14 years to get on the Finance Committee so it might be somewhat unlikely for a first-year senator to achieve that.”
If he gets it...liars everyone of them. We will be watching.
Since I'm a registered nonpartisan (Independent) who voted for President Obama, I am happy that Independent Senator Angus King sees things as I see them! The Republican Party needs to be taught a lesson that American is a diverse country with many different parts that make-up the whole. It is NOT - as they seem to see it - a country which their lily white leadership believes it can mold to their liking.
I agree! The sooner this nation becomes majority Latino, the better! Because, then the black bigots and white bigots will be on the same side! Not that it matters!
Hope the Dems change the filibuster rule. Two options are to remove the threshold at 60 and make it simple majority (maybe not a real good idea) or to make the senator who is blocking legislation actually stand up and filibuster, not just threaten to do so. Make these bozos actually stand up and claim responsibility for their obstructionism. They would actually have to defend their position....a novel concept in the current Congress.
Senator Klobuchar (D) Minnesota said right after the election that she would support both approaches, especially the "stand up and talk" provision. Hopefully this will get done.
I also agree filibuster should be stand and read out of the dictionary or whatever. Not ya, im filibustering now lets take a week off till something else is up for vote. I'm not a big fan of changing the number of people to beat a filibuster. If they do change the number it still should be more than the number of seats the dems have. People need to compromise.
Well, the Dem's need all the help they can get, to fix what the GOP's messed up, like all the money we didn't have, they spent on their wars. So far, very little money has been spent by Dem's to get our country back on track. Now if Obama, and friends, can get the GOP losers, to co-operate to bring back all the jobs lost to China, and do what is good for our country, we could get our hope back.
GOP messed up what? Democrat majority in the house and senate from 2006 until 2010 and then senate and presidency from then on get a freak life and own up to your sh!t dems.
ozzieyo1 - dont worry, dems are still trying to figure out how to pay for bushes and republicans unfunded wars, and one is still going on not paid for....trying to pay for medicare part D the republicans didnt pay for, and cut spending or increase taxes that the bush and republicans didnt make deficit neutral.
So ya... take off your blinders and blame both parties!!
Pretty sure the dems voted for the wars too there deezy!
As I mentioned in another thread, during the Bush years when Democrats were the senate minority, Teddy Kennedy said the minority had not only the right, but a duty to block nominees they don't like.
he is not an independent if he sides with either party. if he wants to be true independent, then sides with no one and vote on issues not by party.
it's just a sick example of our corrupted 2 party system.
Cellisis- read the article. the Democratic leadership has stated that "no party-line commitment would be required or expected". Thus, he is free to vote on issues, not follow a party line. However, by associating with the majority he serves his constituents well as the majority "has more committee slots to fill, has more control over what bills get considered and more control over the Senate’s schedule".
Go ahead and filibuster your Right Wing TV evangelist @$$ off you ignorant Muterfuker. Every election in the next four years will replace your sorry Teagagging @$$es. The voters spoke you refuse to listen. Your sorry white old @$$es just got 20 females to shove your attacks on women up your wrinkled @$$.
classy, very enlightened comment from an obviously well educated individual.
"Barack Obama won the election.
Barack Obama won. He won by turning out the most people in a well run campaign. In other words, he won fair and square.
We here at RedState are American citizens. We have no plans to secede from the union. If you do, good luck with that, but this is not the place for you.
Too many people have spent the past four years obsessed with birth certificates. Now they are obsessed with voter fraud conspiracies, talk of secession, and supposed election changing news stories if only we had known.
So let’s add dabblers in this latest nuttiness to birthers as a category of people we do not welcome at RedState."
http://www.redstate.com/2012/11/13/is-it-time-to-roll-up-the-welcome-mat-here/
Since President Barack Obama was first elected, Republicans have used the filibuster to stymie some of his nominees and to make it impossible to enact tax increases proposed by the Democrats.
Obama to Republicans. "Since you have stymied any progress, I hereby have decided to do nothing like you have and let ALL Bush tax cuts expire. Have a nice day."
King says that the Senate filibuster rule "is designed to protect the interests of small states". It seems to me that the small states are already protected by having 2 Senators each, irrespective of their size. The filibuster rule is over-protective and manifestly undemocratic when heavily-populated New York, California, Florida and Texas already have the same number of Senators as Idaho, Alaska, Vermont and Montana. How can a super majority be justified in light of this?
"Fair and
.................balanced"
It is a fact that Republicans were proudly obstructionist for the last four years. Their plan was to have NO PLAN. Even if they were the only party on the planet, they have committed a crime against all Americans by willingly, knowingly and intentionally doing nothing while the rest of us struggle to feed our families. GOP, you must know that you alone are the reason everyone is upset at you. Look inward as you struggle to come up with the slightest scrap of usefulness to the American people.
Another traitor....another "taker" giver another 47% lover.
Well then I expect you have given back your mil benefits, retirment check, disablity benefits, va benefits, have elected not to take Medicare and social security when eligible and pay for your healthcare needs out of your own pocket with no ins (since insurance is done by everyone paying into the pot and the pot used to pay bills, many contribute for a few to benefit).
otherwise this spouse of a disabled navy vet says STFU about the 47%...( many of which are veterans and disabled veterans. )
SO here in Illinois, Where the Price of gas went down 25 cents the week and a half before the election, Woke up this morning to an increase in gas prices of 18 cents a gallon. Where we all know the price of oil has decreased. Hmmmmm. The chicago tribune the week before the election was telling all of the wonderful readers that the houseing market was picking up steam and that foreclosures were down and falling steady. This morning we wake to headlines of how the foreclosure rate is increasing 19 percent over a year ago. Democrat, Republican, Independent. What really is more important to you. A political party or the People of the Country.?All the people.
What is more important to you. The truth, or twisted headlines and reduced prices to make thing look good?
Wow look at the sinking ship of the Obamaizm. 53% of the Americans that did not vote for Obama, having to go over the cliff with the rest of of liberal socialist Democrats just like Europe is doing. You only have yourself to blame.
Like this guy going with the Democrats is any big surprise.
You just have to wonder what the White House promised him and his state, like big, big, pork money to get him to jump ship. More tax payers wasted money.
When you run Independent, you should not go against your party and do just the opposite of why they put you there. If I lived in that state I would be pis*sed.
Steve, you need to go back to school... 51% of the country voted FOR obama leaving just 49% who didnt.
As to the rest of your rant... really need to stop taking every thing faux says as truth,... all they spew is bull@!$%# and lies and your rant sounds like a toddler who just got told no to a 3rd piece of candy.