Valley

“For anyone who has been taught that good equals small and silent, here is my heart with all its ugly tangles and splendid fury.”
― E. Lockhart, Genuine Fraud

“Political reporters frequently refer to the Senate as “polarized,” implying both parties sprinted from the middle toward their respective extremes. In fact, that’s not the case. In 2008, when Marty left the upper chamber, Democrats were standing on their twenty, one yard closer to the center than they had been three decades prior. Republican senators, however, had barreled toward their own end zone: they had moved from the twenty-two-yard line to the eleven.* The divide between Democrats and Republicans was greater than ever, all because of one party’s rightward lurch.”
― David Litt, Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think

“Senator Ted Cruz put a “blanket hold” on Obama’s nominations to the State Department—every single one—to protest the Iran nuclear deal. “Of all the cloture motions ever filed or reconsidered on district court nominations,” writes former Senate staffer Bill Dauster, “97 percent were on President Obama’s nominees.”
― David Litt, Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think

“The unanimous consent agreement—a touchy-feely declaration of legislative togetherness—provided a counterweight to the filibuster’s egotistical extremes. In fact, with the official rules so resistant to change, Senators began turning to UC agreements not just to prevent filibusters, but to accomplish almost anything. Today the Senate has a formal rule book. But unlike in the House, that rule book is frequently ignored by unanimous consent.”
― David Litt, Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think