The Mad Professah Lectures

Cory Booker announced on Friday February 1 (the beginning of Black History Month) that he is running for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020. The 49-year-old, vegan, bachelor junior U.S. senator from New Jersey joins the most diverse presidential aspirant field ever. It already features Kamala Harris (U.S. Senator from California), Kirsten Gillibrand (U.S. Senator from New York), Elizabeth Warren (U.S. Senator from Massachusetts) and Julian Castro (former secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration).

Richard Grenell has been confirmed by a vote of 56-42 in the United States Senate to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Germany, one day before Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Washington, D.C. for bilateral talks with the Trump administration. Most Democrats voted against the nomination, with most Republicans voting infavor, including known homophobes such as

The Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo said on Fox News:

 For the first time in history, an openly gay ambassador was not confirmed “in spite of” Republicans, or simply “with Republican support.” Grenell is now our ambassador to Germany because of Republican support.

And now the Trump administration (and its supporters) will use the existence of an openly gay ambassador to a high profile country as an example that Republicans are no longer anti-gay, all the while the Trump administration continues to be virulently anti-LGBT in multiple ways.

Hmmm, count one electoral win for the godless in Alabama last night. Roy Moore, an unrepentant theocrat who was twice removed from his elected position as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for his refusal to follow the law of the land (once for placing a huge monument to the Ten commandments on state property and once for refusing to enforce the same-sex marriage decision Obergefell v Hodges) lost a special election to Democrat Doug Jones last night.

Born-again and evangelical Christians voted for Moore at the astonishing rate of 80% to 13% while "everyone else" voted 76% to 22% for Jones. How does this voting pattern align with "christian" values?

Other demographics of the vote are also interesting:


These exit poll data show the stark differences in the electorate. People under 40 voted for Jones, while people over 40 voted for Moore, but not in as large numbers (and voters over 40 were a large fraction of the electorate, at 75%).

Hat/tip Friendly Atheist

Whoa! Kevin de León is my State Senator and is the head of the California State Senate. The 50-year-old Latino politician from Los Angeles is termed out of the legislature next year and many people have been wondering what higher office he would seek next. This week he announced that he is running to become a U.S. Senator from California. Currently, California's Senators are Dianne Feinstein (who was elected in 1992) and Kamala Harris, who was elected in 2016. Feinstein recently announced that she would be trying to win a 6th 6-year term in 2018.

de León has announced that he will try to stop that from happening.

Since both are Democrats and California has a top 2 primary it is very likely this race will not e decided in the primary, but almost certainly go the distance to November 2018.

Well, well! The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT political advocacy organization, has rescinded its endorsement of incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois)  over a shocking racist remark Kirk made in a debate with his opponent U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth last week.

An excerpt from the open letter HRC head Chad Griffin released explaining the organization's action is today's Queer Quote:

I have refused to donate money to HRC ever since they endorsed the odious Alfonse D'Amato over Charles Schumer in the 1998 U.S. Senate race from New York. The fact that they finally did the right thing by rescinding the endorsement when their chosen candidate made an explicitly racist remark is a sign that things may be changing at HRC.

Wow! There are multiple reports (first broken by the San Antonio Times) that 79-year-old Antonin Scalia, the longest-serving member of the United States Supreme Court (appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986) has been found dead at a ranch in Texas.

This means that President Barack Obama will have a 3rd opportunity to appoint a Justice to the Court. Previously he has appointed Sonia Sotomayor (2009) and Elena Kagan (2010)

The Republicans will almost certainly claim there is not enough time to approve a justice who will be breaking the now 4-4 tie between left-leaning and right-leaning remaining on the Court.

Regardless, the Supreme Court will become a major factor in the 2016 presidential race and that has to increase turnout and help the Democratic nominee.

Via Talking Points Memo comes this excellent infographic visualizing the (lack of) diversity in the 535 Members of the United States Congress who are supposed to represent the 320 million people who live in this country. Most of the diversity that does exist in Congress comes from the Democrats, not the Republicans.

Specifically:

There are a total of 81 minorities that are Democrats in both houses combined and 16 that are Republicans, according to data from CQ. The 114th Congress also has 79 Democratic women and 29 Republican women, also according to CQ. 

Of the 188 Democrats in the newly sworn-in House of Representatives, 78 are minorities, according to CQ. Despite the rise of new stars like Rep. Mia Love (UT, pictured above) just 12 of the 246 Republicans in the House majority are minorities. In the Senate, percentages are slightly better for Republicans. There are four Republican senators who are racial minorities and 3 Democrats who are racial minorities. 

By gender, there are 65 House Democrats who are women and 23 women are on the other side of the aisle, according to CQ. That leaves 123 Democratic men and 223 Republican men. In the Senate, there are 14 Democratic women and a record six Republican women leaving 30 Democratic men plus another two Independents who caucus with Democrats and 48 Republican men.

However, the Washington Post points out that it is in the area of religious representation that the Congress does the worst. There is only 0.2% representation (i.e. 1 member) who declares themselves to have no religious affiliation while 20% of Americans declare that they are affiliated with no specific religion.

Robert L. Pittman of Texas has become the first openly gay federal judge in Texas and the 10th openly LGBT member of the federal judiciary nominated by President Barack Obama thanks to actions the Senate took before adjourning yesterday.

Eric Holder, the United States' first African American Attorney General, announced his resignation today in Washington. Holder is a staunch ally of LGBT equality, a champion for social justice and a strong supporter of civil rights.

Here is what he said today:

I come to this moment with very mixed emotions.  Proud of what the men and women of the Department of Justice have accomplished over the last six years and, at the same time, very sad that I will not be a formal part of the great things that this department and this President will accomplish over the next two. I want to thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity you gave me to serve and for giving me the greatest honor of my professional life.  We have been great colleagues, but the bonds between us are much deeper than that.  In good times and bad, in things personal and professional, you have been there for me.  I am proud to call you my friend.  I am also grateful for the support you have given me and the department as we have made real the visions that you and I have always shared.  I often think of those early talks between us and our belief that we might help to craft a more perfect Union.  Work remains to be done – but our list of accomplishments is real.  Over the last six years, our Administration has made historic gains in realizing the principles of the founding documents, and fought to protect the most sacred of American rights: the right to vote.  We have begun to realize the promise of equality for our LGBT brothers and sisters and their families.  We have begun to significantly reform our criminal justice system and reconnect those who bravely serve in law enforcement with the communities they protect.  We have kept faith with our belief in the power of the greatest judicial system the world has ever known to fairly and effectively adjudicate any cases that are brought before it, including those that involve the security of the nation we both love so dearly.  We have taken steps to protect the environment and make more fair the rules by which our commercial enterprises operate.  And we have held accountable those who would harm the American people either through violent means or the misuse of economic or political power. I have loved the Department of Justice ever since, as a young boy, I watched Robert Kennedy prove during the Civil Rights Movement how the department can – and must – always be a force for that which is right.  I hope that I have done honor to the faith you placed in me, Mr. President, and to the legacy of all those that served before me. I would also like to thank the Vice President, who I have known for so many years and in whom I have found great wisdom, unwavering support, and a shared vision of what America can, and should, be.  I want to recognize my good friend Valerie Jarrett, whom I’ve been fortunate to work with from the beginning of what started as an improbable, idealistic effort by a young senator from Illinois who we were both right to believe would achieve greatness.  I have had the opportunity to serve in your distinguished Cabinet and worked with a White House staff, ably led by Denis McDonough, that has done much to make real the promise of our democracy.  And each of the men and women who I have come to know will be lifelong friends. Whatever my accomplishments, they could not have been achieved without the love, support, and guidance of two people who are not with me today.  My parents, Eric and Miriam Holder, nurtured me and my accomplished brother William and made us believe in the value of individual effort and the greatness of this nation.
 My time in public service, which now comes to an end, would not have been possible without the sacrifices – too often unfair – made by the best three kids a father could ask for.  Thank you, Maya, Brooke, and Buddy.
 And finally I want to thank the woman who sacrificed the most and allowed me to follow my dreams.  She is the foundation of all that our family is and the basis of all that I have become.  My wife, Sharon, is the unsung hero and my life partner.  Thank you for all that you have done.  I love you. In the months ahead, I will leave the Department of Justice – but I will never leave the work.  I will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation even more true to its founding ideals.  I thank the dedicated public servants who form the backbone of the United States Department of Justice for their tireless work over the past six years, for the efforts they will continue, and for the progress they made that will outlast us all. And I thank you all for joining me on a journey that now moves in another direction, but that will always be guided by the pursuit of justice and aimed at the North Star.    

It will be interesting to see who replaces him to lead the Department of Justice, and how obstreperous the Republicans in the Senate will be towards any potential nominee, especially since that nomination will probably not happen until after the 2014 elections.

Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins became the fourth sitting Republican Senator to endorse marriage equality on Wednesday. Collin, Republican of maine, joins her colleagues Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Collins told the Portland Press-Herald:

On Wednesday, however, her campaign issued a statement that many in the gay-rights community had expected much earlier from a lawmaker who is viewed as one of Congress’ friendliest Republicans on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. 

“A number of states, including my home state of Maine, have now legalized same-sex marriage, and I agree with that decision,” Collins said in the statement. “Today, same-sex couples can be legally married in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 44% of Americans live in a state where same-sex couples can be legally married, and I believe this number will only continue to grow.” 

Earlier Wednesday, Collins was endorsed once again by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy organization.

Many Democratic LGBT observers (like myself) are dismayed that HRC is endorsing a Republican who had not endorsed marriage equality yet when her opponent is someone who was a champion for marriage equality in Maine as head of the local chapter of the ACLU. Shana Bellows issued a statement in response to the news of the endorsement:

"I've been proud and very privileged to be a leader in the LGBT equality movement for many years. As executive director of the ACLU of Maine, I spent every day bringing Republicans and Democrats together to expand civil liberties and strengthen equal protection under the law. I believe in taking strong stances in favor of Constitutional protections and equal rights even when they're unpopular. Remaining silent on some of the biggest civil rights issues of our generation, even after the voters have spoken, isn't leadership, and it isn't how Maine became one of the most inclusive states in the country for LGBT rights. 

"My opponent, Republican Susan Collins, had the chance to speak up in favor of marriage equality in 2012 or any time in the previous decade. Two years after her constituents made their feelings known at the ballot box, she has refused to break her silence. I believe Mainers need, want and deserve more proactive representation on equal rights -- on allowing LGBT students to learn without fear of bullying, on applying for jobs and going to work without fear of discrimination, and on much more. I'm running for Senate to provide that proactive representation and to expand Constitutional protections for our LGBT community.

I understand that HRC feels like it needs to endorse Republican incumbents over Democratic challengers, but I disagree with the lack of political principle involved. The largest LGBT political organization in the country should make its endorsements based on which candidate actually has the best pro-LGBT record. By endorsing a Republican, HRC is endorsing someone who will vote for Mitch McConnell to be Senate Majority Leader, which will mean absolutely no legislative progress on LGBT rights while Republicans control the Senate.

Well, well, well! Expressing publicly thoughts which many LGBT activists (like myself) have had privately for years, Matt Foreman, former head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and eminence rose of the LGBT movement has said that the current "federal gay rights bill," commonly known as ENDA (which passed the United States Senate for the first time in its 40-year history last year) is a waste of time.

To be precise he said this:

"It's pathetic that four decades have gone by without Congress extending basic civil rights protections to LGBT Americans. It's even more pathetic that what's left of Bella Abzug's comprehensive legislation is ENDA - a small-bore bill that is now riddled with giveaways to anti-gay forces, including a religious exemption big enough for an 18-wheeler to cruise through. It's time to pull the plug on this essentially lifeless corpse and demand full equality under the federal civil rights statutes."

ENDA is (and has been for at least a decade) the #1 priority of HRC, the nations largest LGBT political advocacy organization. But with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, no pro-LGBT legislation will be enacted in the near-future, since only a handful of House Republicans (well, 7) are publicly supportive of the measure. The hardest thing about banning anti-gay discrimination in federal law is that most Americans already think it is illegal (and think that it should be), which paradoxically reduces momentum for enacting such a policy into law.

I agree with Matt that ENDA should be replaced by a comprehensive civil rights bill that calls for an end to discrimination in public accommodations, employment, education and housing, basically amend the 1964 civil rights act and add "sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression" to the words where "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin" appear in the text.

However, it does seem like pushing for a more comprehensive measure will make enacting basic projections in the 23 states where you can currently be fired for being LGB even less likely to happen in the near term.

So, I disagree that ENDA should be withdrawn, I think it should be supported, IN ADDITION to a comprehensive bill.

What do you think?

More judicial good news today! The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the nation's largest (and decidedly most liberal) federal appellate court now has a full complement of judges with the confirmation of straight ally Michelle Friedland to the court by a vote of 51-40 this week.

Friedland, 41, attended Stanford University and its law school, from which she graduated second in her class in 2000, and was a Fulbright scholar at Oxford University in England. She worked as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and taught law at Stanford before joining the law firm of Munger, Tolles and Olson in 2004. 

While handling business cases at her firm, she has also represented the gay-rights group Equality California in challenging California's now-overturned ban on same-sex marriage and in defending a state law that prohibits therapy aimed at turning gay youths straight. 

Obama first nominated her to the court in August, but Republicans blocked a Senate floor vote. Democratic leaders cleared the way for the confirmation of Friedland and other stalled Obama nominees by pushing through a repeal of filibusters in November for executive-branch appointments and judicial nominations below the Supreme Court level. Those nominations formerly needed 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate but now require only 51 votes to end debate, and a majority among senators taking part in the confirmation vote. The Ninth Circuit handles federal appeals from California and eight other Western states. Congress expanded its authorized judgeships to 28 in 1984 and to 29 in 2009, but the court has had at least one vacancy since 1992.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

Things that make you go hmmm. Huffington Post has confirmed that President Barack Obama has given up on pushing for William Thomas to become the first ever black, openly gay federal judge in our nation's history. Thomas was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

MadProfessah has been following this curious story for quite some time. It has since became clear that U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was the primary impediment to Judge Thomas making history but for reasons that have not been made public.

Huffington Post reported:

Rubio has been single-handedly blocking Thomas for months, despite recommending him to Obama in 2012 as a nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Rubio indicated in September he would not submit his "blue slip" to the Senate Judiciary Committee -- a courtesy, but not a hard rule, honored in the committee that allows a home-state senator to advance or hold up a nominee. Florida's other senator, Bill Nelson (D), submitted his blue slip months ago. 

[...] 

"Judge Thomas is a well-qualified jurist," Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) told HuffPost in the fall. "There is a serious underrepresentation of minorities on the bench and partisan obstructionism isn’t making it any better." 

Hastings is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has railed against Rubio for blocking black judicial nominees at a time when the group says black judges make up about 8.3 percent of the federal judicial bench. In addition to Thomas, Rubio had been withholding his blue slip for another black judicial nominee, Brian Davis. But Rubio ultimately agreed to move forward with Davis, who has since been confirmed. 

“I am upset and concerned. Senator Marco Rubio himself said that Judge Thomas had passed all the tests, and then all of sudden for Senator Rubio to say Judge Thomas is not suitable is just not right," Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) said Tuesday. "I don’t know what more I can do to make Senator Rubio understand that what he is doing is wrong.”

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force issued a statement condemning the actions by Sen. Rubio in killing the Thomas nomination:

"We need more diversity in the federal judiciary, not less and it's disappointing that Judge William Thomas was not included among the nominees the White House submitted to the Senate this week. Judge Thomas is an eminently qualified jurist and, if confirmed, would have been the first openly gay black male to serve on the federal bench. Senator Marco Rubio's procedural maneuvering to stop this nominee was unacceptable and harmful given that the vacancy on the Southern District Court of Florida has been classified as a judicial emergency. Senator Rubio's actions are in no way helpful to the people of Florida."

Hopefully President Barack Obama will not have difficulty finding another openly gay Black man who could be nominated to a federal judgeship. This is a historical first that I would like to see completed.

Good news! Chai Feldblum, a commissioner on the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, has been confirmed by a vote of 54-41 to a second term. Feldblum herself tweeted the news yesterday:


Feldblum is widely known as the "mother of ENDA," and also as the longtime partner (and wife?) of Nan Hunter, a well-respected Professor of Law at Georgetown who is an expert on LGBT jurisprudence.

In her first term on the EEOC, Feldblum was instrumental in the EEOC's unanimous Macy v. Holder ruling that interprets the prohibition against workplace discrimination found in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include transgender individuals. This means that just like employment discrimination based on race is prohibited nationwide, employment discrimination against transgender people is also illegal.

This is somewhat surprising since there is no federal law that prohibits discrimination against LGBT people in employment, which is precisely what ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) is intended to do. ENDA passed the United States Senate for the first time earlier this year but is now pending in the U.S. House, where Republicans are not expected to bring it to a vote.

Hat/tip to Karen Ocamb

The Democratic majority in the United States Senate has finally acted to limit partisan filibusters of presidential appointments, voting 52-48 to change the operating rules of the Senate, by deploying what was previously known as the "nuclear option."

Progressives are generally thrilled with the rule change and this graphic depicting the current makeup of the federal judiciary is the main reason why:

These results are summarized by Campaign for America's Future:

When Obama came into office, Republican appointess held 59.4% of the filled judicial seats. But just this month, Democrats took a one-seat edge and now hold 50.06% of the seats. 

(The shift was little noted in the media. USA Today flagged that Democrats reached a tie on November 1. Soon after, the Senate filled two vacancies, while one new vacancy was createdwhen a Democratic judge moved to “senior” status.) 

But while Dems now hold that paper-thin edge, there are 93 vacancies on the table. (Plus another 18 judges have announced they will vacate their seats in the near future.) 

If Republicans dare Democrats into scrapping the filibuster for judicial nominations, President Obama can move to fill all those vacancies, which would give Democrats control of more than 55% of the judiciary.

It would indeed be a great thing if the federal judiciary actually was occupied by people who thought it was their job to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority and enforce constitutional liberties and civil rights instead of the  fraud of "original intent."

Wally Brewster has been approved (unanimously) by the United States Senate as the new Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (my dream job, LOL). Brewster previously served as a board member of the Human Rights Campaign, which sent out a notice about Brewster's confirmation:

Prior to this year, three openly gay people had served as U.S. Ambassadors (Jim Hormel, Michael Guest and David Huebner).  Just this year, five openly gay people have been confirmed as Ambassadors (Brewster, along with John Berry in Australia, James Costos in Spain, Rufus Gifford in Denmark, and Daniel Baer as ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). It is a testament to President Obama and the U.S. Senate that the sexual orientation of these ambassadors is irrelevant to their qualifications for their posts.  All Americans should be proud to have these fine public servants representing the interests of the United States.

Of course one might notice that all five LGBT individuals are white gay men, which is not indicative of the diversity of the LGBT community, but is representative of the people who get rewarded with ambassadorships through political appointments!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

The same day that the U.S. Senate took an important step towards passage of a federal LGBT rights bill, the Speaker of the House made it clear he opposes the legislation from becoming law, provoking sharp words from the head of the largest LGBT rights group in the United States. The Senate voted 61-30 to bring ENDA to the floor, but before that happened John Boehner had his spokesperson release a statement saying "The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs." Additionally, the Speaker's office also said that "We have always believed this is covered by existing law. [This is] not a new issue or a new position -- it's a longstanding position, and, frankly, not 'news' at all. This has been his position, on the record, for years, stated publicly many times."

Chad Griffin, head of the Human Rights Campaign, reacted to the false assertion that current law already protects LGBT people from employment discrimination by saying: "The Speaker, of all people, should certainly know what it's like to go to work every day afraid of being fired. Instead of letting the far right trample him again, it's time for Speaker Boehner to stand with the majority of everyday Republican voters and support ENDA."

What the Speaker is doing is continuing to bolster the incorrect impression held by 69% of Americans that anti-LGBT discrimination is already illegal, thus decreasing the momentum to actually enact the policy into law. This is truly odious behavior by a public official, because lack of LGBT employment discrimination has actual negative impacts on actual people.

Hat/tip to Talking Points Memo

As expected, the United States Senate was able to achieve cloture on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) by a vote of 61-30. This means that it is very likely that the measure will pass the body when that vote is taken in few days.

The Washington Blade reports:

By a vote of 61-30, senators invoked cloture on the legislation as Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) presided. The vote enables up to 30 hours of debate and amendments before a vote for final passage, which is expected Wednesday.

Joining 54 sponsors of the bill in voting for ENDA, whose chief sponsor is Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), on the Democratic side were Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who previously articulated support for ENDA. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), an ENDA co-sponsor, didn’t vote.

On the Republican side, additional votes came from Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Other votes came from Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who voted for the bill in committee, and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who previously articulated support earlier in the day. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who also voted for ENDA in committee, didn’t vote.

Including the Republican original co-sponsors of ENDA — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) — the bill had seven Republicans votes. As he indicated he would, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) voted “no” after entering the Senate following [openly lesbian] Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), apparently after a conversation with her.

It will be interesting if all 7 of the Republicans who voted in favor of invoking cloture will also vote in favor of the actual legislation. One can make the argument that one was just in favor of the measure going forward for debate on the Senate floor (that's what cloture means) without actually supporting the measure itself but I dpoubt that most Republican Senators constituents would be forgiving of such apostasy.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

A historic vote will happen in the United States Senate on Monday night. The nation's most important legislative body will vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the federal bill that would ban LGBT employment discrimination nationwide. This is historic because it is the first time in 17 years the bill has a realistic chance of passing the Senate; in 1996 an earlier version of ENDA failed by 1 vote, 49-50. It's possible, but unlikely, that history could repeat itself, because by my count there are currently only 59 public supporters in the Senate and in the new modus operandi of the body all significant pieces of legislation have to reach a 60-vote threshold of support in order to pass.

Currently there are 29 states where there are no state laws protecting against sexual orientation-based employment discrimination and there are 33 states where there is no state-based protection for employment discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. ENDA becoming law would mean LGBT people would be protected nationwide and would be one of the rare examples of the federal legislature acting in the interests of LGBT people.

According to The Advocate, after a successful cloture vote on Monday, actual passage of the bill would occur on Wednesday November 6.

Well that was quick! All members of the entire Democratic caucus in the United States Senate has announced that they will vote for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal LGBT rights bill. Just yesterday I blogged about Sen. Bill Nelson's co-sponsorship of ENDA meant that there were only two holdouts in the Democratic caucus: Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). Today comes word that the entire 55-member Democratic caucus is united in support of S. 815, which means that if you count the support of Republican co-sponsors Mark Kirk and Susan Collins and include the support of Orrin Hatch and Lisa Murkowski who voted for it in committee the measure has 59 votes, just one shy of a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God