Filibuster

As oil prices hit record highs, all indications are that a stubborn conservative minority in the U.S. Senate will stand in the way of sensible energy legislation that would shift tax breaks away from Big Oil, which doesn't need them, and toward renewable energy companies that do. more »

Once again, an obstinate Republican minority in the Senate vetoes the majority will, this time on a stimulus package that had bipartisan legislative and broad public support. Over the past year, we've documented the routine use of the filibuster by the Republican minority to block measures supported by the Democratic majority and a majority of the American public. more »

It's been quite a week for progress-haters. President Bush vetoes, for the second time, health insurance for millions more kids. The conservative minority in the Senate blocked investment in renewable energy. And the arm of obstructionism reached halfway around the world to Bali, where White House officials are throttling the international effort to combat global warming. more »