And so it comes to pass yesterday that the Obama administration will not defend DOMA against legal challenges in the federal courts, because the administration does not believe the law to be Constitutional. The dual politics of gay marriage and federalism aside, what should we make of a President’s decision not to defend a properly-enacted congressional statute in the courts? Continue reading
One of the more radical moves you can make as the minority party in certain state legislatures is to absent all your members from the chamber to deny the majority a quorum. This happened in Wisconsin today, where the Senate Democrats failed to show up to prevent a vote on removing collective bargaining rights from state employees. It happened in Texas several years ago. In both cases, the majority party sent state troopers out to round up the legislators and demand their appearance (which is a perfectly legal procedural option in both states). In both cases, the fugitive legislators simply left the state. Continue reading
Right now, the House of Representatives is considering legislation via a process it has not used in quite some time: an open rule on the floor. Continue reading