Who ya gonna call?

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein revealed yesterday that Harry Reid and others feel like the filibuster has been “abused” because it takes days for the Senate to enact cloture votes.  (It sparked an interesting discussion in the Post’s message boards, as well.)

“I file cloture” — the motion to end a filibuster — “to move to discuss the bill on Monday,” Reid explained. “That takes two days to ripen. We don’t have a vote till Wednesday. Once that’s done, Republicans have 30 hours to do nothing. After the 30 hours is up, you’re on the bill. If there’s no amendment offered” — remember, amendments can be filibustered, too — “you file cloture to move to the vote. It takes two days and then another 30 hours. So that’s 60 hours plus four days to vote on the bill. That happened 67 times last year.” You do the math.

One way to make the lawmaking process more efficient would be to reduce the number of people in the legislature, or to merge lawmaking authority with the executive branch.  Cuba, Venezuela, Iraq, North Korea, Germany, France, and others enacted similar systems at various times in history… though it hasn’t gone well.

Otherwise, we all may have to accept that our legislature’s inefficiency is by design.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course.

The filibuster exists to maintain the Senate’s deliberative nature, so the best reform might be to force actual filibusters.  Senators who want to extend debate should actually have to talk.

When Republicans made the same grumblings years ago, they missed an opportunity to demonstrate Democratic obstructionism on judicial nominees. The GOP could have made political hay out of CSPAN clips of Democrats talking endlessly or reading the phone book to keep debate going.  Republican parties in the home states of the filibuster-ers could have organized “Save the Judicial Branch” rallies to protest their talkative Senators.

The problem for Democrats now is that the filibuster is blocking an unpopular piece of legislation.  If I were a Senate Republican, I would welcome the chance to speak on national TV about the future of health care, about federal spending, about the risks of government running anything, and the bribes Democrats are using to win support.  And even the bill’s passage may be a losing proposition.

At the very least, we should all agree that the filibuster should be maintained so that the eventual remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington makes sense.  All in favor… say die:

Where you at?

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Facebook plans to add a feature that would let you keep tabs on your friends’ locations (and vice versa).  Like many of Facebook’s tweaks in recent years, this isn’t original – many of the next wave of social networking tools are location-based.

Details are still forthcoming, but the evolution of location data in social networking will be particularly interesting.  As Facebook has learned – and as Google found out when it unveiled its Buzz tool – just because we like to share stuff about our lives doesn’t mean we want to surrender our privacy.  In fact, we want to have the opportunity to separate a little from our digital selves now and again.  Location data chips away a little bit more of that wall.

The utility is pretty clear for businesses, politicians, social butterflies, and other folks who want to be found.  (And it’s also pretty clear for Facebook, which can now allow brick-and-mortar stores to serve ads to people near their physical location.)  To make it worth their while, Facebook and others would be smart to make location data available as a one-way street: to let me find out who’s close to me without letting them know where I am.

Rove, Rove, Rove your boat

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Despite some stirrings on the right, there’s nothing wrong with Matt Lauer’s interview with Karl Rove, part of which aired yesterday morning.  The Today Show host was a bit combative, but journalists are supposed to be that way when talking with political figures.  (And sparring with a Republican is at least better than recycling the same five stories every morning and pretending like something is new.)

Matt Lewis had Rove on his podcast yesterday and came at the interview from a different angle.  If you are a politics junkie, it’s a good interview to listen to.  (For instance, Rove shares a hilarious story of a then-college-aged Lee Atwater’s first meeting with George H.W. Bush.)  It’s definitely worth a listen.

Googlevision

~ Jim Eltringham ~ 1 Comment

This week, Google announced a partnership with Dish Network to launch a TV search service.  It’s not the first time Google has found its way into the living room – they’ve been working with TiVo to figure out what shows you watch and serve you ads when you pause a live show and measure ad performance.

Google is wise to move into TV advertising.  It may sound like they’re taking a step back; that they’re an internet company going back to traditional media.  But the line between various entertainment channels gets blurrier every day.  Online video and television video are no longer all that different.  If Google wants to be the gatekeeper for all the world’s information (and you can be sure they do), they have to watch your remote control as closely as they do your laptop keyboard.

We should have been ready – Jim Carrey predicted all this 14 years ago…

Yes we can differentiate between crazy people

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

The Southern Poverty Law Center paints anarchist extremists with the same brush as tea partiers and small-government enthusiasts.  I wonder if they draw the same lines between President Barack Obama and New York State Senate candidate Hiram Monserrate.

Monserratte – or “Monster Rat,” according to the New York Daily News – is running for re-election to the state senate seat he was kicked out of last month for his unconventional domestic conflict resolution methods.

His campaign slogan for next week’s special election is “Yes We Can,” and his paraphernalia features the Obama ’08 logo prominently.  The DNC has told him to knock it off, but it’s not clear if there’s really anything they can do – at least, not in time for the election.  (And if they do, they better get their arms over their faces quick, Monserrate reportedly likes to get stabby with broken glass.)

One can either accept that there are crazy people in both parties or we can take the extremists on both ends as the norm, but certainly neither side has a monopoly.  Despite best efforts by either side to brand opponents by the lunatic fringe, crazy may be the only place to find true bipartisanship.

The politics of fear

~ Jim Eltringham ~ 4 Comments

Washington is still buzzing about the RNC’s leaked fundraising presentation, especially the use of the word “fear” as a means to win support.

Why couldn’t the Republicans be more like our President, who speaks in rational terms about ideas, just like he did in Pennsylvania today:

Every year, the problem gets worse.  Every year, insurance companies deny more people coverage because they’ve got preexisting conditions.  Every year, they drop more people’s coverage when they get sick right when they need it most.  Every year, they raise premiums higher and higher and higher.

See the difference?

Sunday Funnies: Today, all funnies are local

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Charlie Rangel’s ethics problems have led to his electorally vulnerable Democrat colleagues giving back campaign donations from Rangel’s PAC in an effort to distance themselves from the erstwhile Ways and Means Chair.  (Incidentally, Rangel has this backward: usually step one is people giving you bags of money, and step two is the ethics investigation.)

The Republican Party of Virginia is asking why two Virginia Congressmen – including my own Representative, Gerry Connolly – haven’t given theirs back:

In fairness, Pelosi DOES look like Cruella D’Evil

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Three slides from a 72-slide presentation on fundraising are causing headaches over at the RNC. The PowerPoint talks about why people give money, with “ego” and “fear” being the terms that have gotten the most press.

There’s nothing in the presentation that wouldn’t be found in most lectures or lessons on how to raise money – though the RNC could have chosen the word “urgency” over “fear.”  Though embarrassing, the story will likely not affect many voters in November.

Yet this story matters to RNC donors.

The RNC is getting a bad reputation for its fundraising (or lack thereof).  Michael Steele has been under fire for the amounts of money both coming in and going out.  A frequent criticism is that Steele does not schmooze the big-dollar donors.  This leaked presentation has hit the national media, but it’s only the latest in a series of stories in the inside the beltway trade press that hammers Steele – and donors who write big checks read those media outlets.

These stories will have no effect if the RNC is in front of its donors, keeping them updated on the organization’s plans and making sure that, no matter what Politico says, they are valued members of the team.  If the RNC isn’t defining their donor relationships, Politico will do it for them.

31 and forever young

~ Jim Eltringham ~ Leave a comment

Last year, I celebrated my 30th birthday with a list of 30 lessons I had learned in 30 years on the planet, which I got a lot of good feedback for.  For 31, I only have one thing to share.

One advantage of having an early March birthday is that if you are a baseball fan, the Spring Training games are starting right now.  I am something of a baseball fan, so I’ve been reading up about the Yankees in Florida.  But a piece of news from the San Francisco Giants camp made me smile this week, when pitcher Tim Lincecum met the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr.:

It happened in the visitor’s clubhouse at Peoria Stadium, as Lincecum discussed his one-inning start against the Mariners. Griffey budged into a group of reporters and extended his hand.

“Lincy, what’s up?” Griffey said. “Just wanted to say hi.”

Then, as soon as he appeared, Griffey was gone, skipping out of enemy territory. “Nice meeting you!” Lincecum called out to him. He looked dazed and awed.

“Wow, he just came over here,” Lincecum said. “What were we talking about?”

The most obvious part of the story is Lincecum’s reaction.  Tim Lincecum has won the last two Cy Young awards and is among the best pitchers in baseball, if not the very best.  He signed a $23 million contract this winter and, when he becomes a free agent in a few years, will sign much bigger contract (if he stays healthy).  And when he met one of the players he grew up idolizing, he became 10 again.  Lincecum unwittingly reminds us that we shouldn’t let the responsibilities that we take on as we grow older keep us from enjoying the things that make us feel like a kid again.

But there’s another side to this.

By making the short trip from one clubhouse to another – a miniscule effort – Griffey made Lincecum’s day.  And as he shook the pitcher’s hand, surely a part of Griffey flashed back to the mid-90’s as well, when he was a skinny young kid himself with a sweet lefty swing saving the Seattle Mariners franchise.

The point is that being young at heart isn’t something you have to wait for – opportunities are created, not made.  Just make sure to grab ’em when you see ’em.

The Felix and Oscar of DC sports

~ Jim Eltringham ~ 1 Comment

The NHL’s trade deadline passed yesterday, and the Washington Capitals acquired four new players to add depth to a team that already has the best record in hockey.  A few weeks back, the NBA trade deadline saw the Caps’ roommates, the Washington Wizards, dumping their best players, waving the white flag in an effort to get better next season.

If you would have asked a Washington sports fan to imagine that scenario just a few years ago, they might have required heavy hallucinogenic help.  The Wizards were a playoff-caliber team, though never a serious championship contender; the Capitals had a half-full arena, the fans were lackadaisical, and the only place to see playoff hockey inside the beltway was on a TV screen.

In the background of these two teams going in different directions, Caps owner Ted Leonsis is trying to buy out the Pollin family for control of the Wizards.  Though the deal has hit stumbling blocks over how each side values the team, sports fans in Your Nation’s Capital should be eager for it to go through.

Having been a Yankee fan for 31 years and nine months tomorrow, I’ve been spoiled in many ways by George Steinbrenner.  The once-mercurial owner has taken on a gradually lessened role in the pure baseball decisions and has relinquished much of the control of the team to his sons, but has never wavered in the Yankees’ larger organizational goal of winning championships.  That means that at baseball’s trade deadline, if the Yankees need a player, they’re going to be buyers and not sellers.

Caps fans are getting a taste of that this year.  How many owners, sitting on the NHL’s best record, would sit on their hands and count their money from ticket sales?  Leonsis has told the DC hockey faithful loud and clear that he’s going for a championship.  It’s the right way to run a sports team.  And, as the richest team in baseball can attest, excellence is good for business.