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Just when I thought Republicans had plumbed the final depths of playground-level obstruction, they somehow manage to take things to yet another level. There is, it turns out, a rule stating that Senate hearings can’t go past 2 pm unless there’s unanimous consent to continue them. This consent was routine until this week. Amanda Terkel reports:

Today, during a Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on transparency, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) announced that he had to stop the proceedings because of Republican blocks….The AP also reported today that Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) had a hearing on the bark beetle canceled today “after Republicans angry over the passage of health insurance reform legislation blocked it by using an obscure Senate rule requiring a unanimous consent to hold hearings scheduled after 2 p.m.”

What’s next? Complaints on Fox that Democrats are using all the good hangars in the cloakroom? A refusal to come to order until Spongebob is over? To call this behavior childish would be an insult to children everywhere. Are we really expected to take a party like this seriously?

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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