Huffington Post asks AFJ, CWA to write about ending gridlock

As part of a series on President Obama's second term, The Huffington Post commissioned a special column from Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron and Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America, on ending gridlock.  Their solution: real reform of Senate rules:

Ending Congressional Gridlock Requires

Curbing Abuse of the Filibuster

 

Jefferson Smith, the fictional filibustering senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, has captivated the imaginations of many Americans. But when was the last time a senator took a principled stand in the form of an around-the-clock speech, then collapsed with exhaustion, having convinced the crooked political establishment to mend its misguided ways?

Now is the time to stop looking to a 73-year-old Hollywood movie for inspiration and start fixing the way the Senate does business so that a latter-day Mr. Smith can actually take a stand for genuine matters of principle. There's growing momentum to end legislative obstruction by changing the rules when the new Senate reconvenes later this month. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) have introduced Senate Resolutions 4 and 6, which mirror the filibuster reforms supported by Fix the Senate Now, a coalition of 50 progressive organizations. And Democrats have the votes to revamp the rules.

 

Read the full column here - and please let readers know what you think by clicking "like" and posting a comment on the Huffington Post site.

Nan Aron in the Huffington Post on Justice Alito's scary speech

In the Huffington Post, AFJ President Nan Aron writes about the speech Justice Samuel Alito gave at a fundraising dinner for the Federalist Society.  She writes:

Although most of the press coverage of this speech has focused on Justice Alito's full-throated defense of the Citizens United decision and his rationalization of the broadest possible interpretation of the corporate personhood concept (an argument effectively dismantled by the New York Times editorial page), there was another moment in Alito's remarks that I think was more important -- and scary.

Read about that moment in the full column here - and please let the Huffington Post community know what you think by posting a comment.