Kennedy Diagnosis Still in Works

Professor analyzes writings, finds lots of name calling

(NEWSER) - This could explain why Congress is having such a hard time agreeing on a budget: Its members are too busy taunting one another. A Harvard professor analyzed the writings of Congress members, and found that about 27% of the time, they're just insulting each other. “It’s jarring and surprising,” he tells the Washington Post . "The entire government may go bankrupt, I guess. This week, right? We probably want our representatives to be listening to each other rather than calling each other names." More»

It all starts with a bipartisan lunch

(NEWSER) - Evan Bayh thinks the Senate is so hopelessly mired in partisan muck that the only way out is for Democrats and Republicans to break bread together. "Let’s start with a simple proposal: why not have a monthly lunch of all 100 senators?" he writes in a New York Times op-ed headlined "Why I'm Leaving the Senate." He suggests the parties pick one topic to talk about, "absent the posturing and public talking points," as a way to improve "the personal chemistry" among senators. More»

Comment may be dig at Minn. freshman, who shut down Lieberman

(NEWSER) - Chris Dodd battled a perceived lack of decorum in the Senate yesterday with some stern language from the floor. The Connecticut Democrat did not name names but rather cryptically chastised the Senate’s “newer members” for failing “to understand how the Senate has worked for more than two centuries” during the course of the health care debate. Most “newer members” are Democrats. More»

Senator inherits Kennedy's cause of health care reform

(NEWSER) - Jay Rockefeller shares little of the temperament of the late Ted Kennedy, but what they do share is essential. “Massive wealth and a virtual lock on his Senate seat frees a man to do what he believes in,” writes Margaret Carlson. And for both men—the West Virginia Democrat now more than ever—that means a dedication to health care reform. In his own teary, stubborn way, Rockefeller has assumed Teddy’s “health care mantle.” And like him, he is "unafraid to be liberal." More»

(NEWSER) - Gov. Deval Patrick should be able to name a Democratic replacement for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat before the end of the week, the Boston Globe reports. Legislation giving hm the authority to do so cleared the state Senate today, a week after the House passed it. The measure still needs to be formally enacted tomorrow, but no further snags are expected. So who will Patrick pick? A Globe editorial today pushed for Michael Dukakis. More»