Editorial SHORTCUTS 07/26/07

07/26/2007

An item that appeared Tuesday on PROGRESS REPORT, the Web-based newsletter published by the Center for American Progress.


"Last week in the Senate, conservatives denied the will of the American people by filibustering a measure to end the war in Iraq.

Unfortunately, such obstructionism has become a hallmark of this new Congress.

In the first seven months of the 110th Congress, conservatives have acted to obstruct legislation at a rate greater than in any previous Congress.

While the House has successfully acted on a number of pressing issues, conservatives in the Senate have blocked legislation via filibuster 42 times, embracing a tactic they once threatened to eliminate.

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., boasted recently, 'The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail ... and so far it's working.' "