The last few days have seen the emergence of something called the Slaughter Rule as a method of passing the Senate's Health Insurance Reform bill. The technique, more formally known as a "self-executing rule", took on this unfortunate monicker because it was given the parliamentary nod for use in passing the Senate bill by House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter. It's worth noting that the self-executing rule is not a new feature created for this present Congress. It's been in place for quite some time, and has been used over the years for a variety of purposes. Read more »

The last decade or so has seen an almost unprecedented visibility into the sausage-making that is our legislative process. The American People have become much more comfortable with terms like "filibuster" in recent years, particularly since the use of that tactic has become increasingly aggressive over the last decade. Read more »