Since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, the stated goal
of the Republican Party has been to obstruct the Democratic agenda at
all costs. Republican senator Orin Hatch has gone so far as to tout
their obstructionist agenda in the National Republican Senatorial
Committee (NRSC) fund-raising pitch, describing the Senate as the
“firewall against irresponsible Democratic legislation.” As the graph
from the front page shows, as of July 22 the Democrats have called a
record 94 cloture votes in the Senate, which nearly doubles the 54
cloture votes attempted in the entirety of the previous term.
NCEC projects that Democrats will likely attempt as many as 118
cloture votes in the Senate by the end of the term. The so-called
“irresponsible legislation” that the Republicans have derailed would
have addressed many pressing problems facing this county, from the
energy crisis to health care.

http://www.ncec.org