Harry Reid Finally Kills the Filibuster (Mostly)

Image from source, New York Times

The fear that has been hanging over Senate Democrats' heads regarding the filibuster always was, If we get rid of it, we'll regret it when the day comes that we're out of power. That's a valid concern, but there was absolutely no assurance that if the Senate flipped to Republican control that they wouldn't "go nuclear," and kill the filibuster anyway.

As has been widely reported, virtually half of the filibusters that have ever happened, have been used during President Obama's tenure. Democrats even warned Senate Minority Leader Myrtle the Turtle Mitch McConnell that if the GOP continued to block the three judicial nominations on deck, that they'd revoke the filibuster. McConnell apparently called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bluff, and Reid--finally, finally--wasn't bluffing. This wasn't a dick move by Reid. It was a solution to the long list of dick moves by Senate Republicans.

The filibuster remains for Supreme Court appointments.

[Excerpt]

In Landmark Vote, Senate Limits Use of the Filibuster

The Senate approved the most fundamental alteration of its rules in more than a generation on Thursday, ending the minority party’s ability to filibuster most presidential nominees in response to the partisan gridlock that has plagued Congress for much of the Obama administration. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Filibuster Showdown Allegedly Coming

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, from source, HuffPo

Harry Reid disappointed a lot of Democrats when he didn't enact filibuster reform, back when the Senate's session started. It was at least the second time that he let the window pass that I'm aware of. Republicans--of course--continued to filibuster everything anyway. Well, they threaten to filibuster,  which is all they need to do anymore.

What I, and a whole lot of other liberals wanted was the classic "talking filibuster," the Mr. Smith Goes to Washington kind. That way, there couldn't be any bitching about the filibuster having been eliminated, they would just have to work for it. Wouldn't that be nice? But no, Reid had some sort of gentleman's agreement with Mitch McChinless McConnell, who is clearly not a gentleman. But now, Reid is showing some backbone (or pretending to), and McConnell is squealing like a stuck turtle tortoise pig.

I hope they do something. I know it won't be the so-called "nuclear option." Reid is worried enough that the GOP will regain the majority (a hellish, impossible-to-believe-it's-possible possibility), that he'll make this "reform" limited. Just enough to get the President's confirmations through. But I'd be thrilled if he tacked on the talking filibuster for everything else. Majority or not.

[Excerpt]

Filibuster Reform: Senate Edges Closer To 'Nuclear Option' 

The Senate edged closer to a historic showdown over presidential appointments Monday night, with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) prepared to launch the so-called nuclear option after a rare all-senator meeting produced no compromise, but an agreement to keep talking.
"We had a very good conversation, that conversation is going to continue tonight," Reid said after the 3 1/2-hour meeting. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Will Harry Reid Use "The Nuclear Option" on Filibuster?

Image from source, TPM

I'm not Harry Reid's biggest fan. Oh, sure, I've voted for him. Three times. But that is only because he was always better than the alternative. He was staggeringly better than his last opponent, Sharron Angle. That she even got close in the election just proves how often Reid irritates Democrats. Fortunately enough of us saw that we couldn't let that happen, and voted for him again.

What he does is get our hopes up. It's no wonder he was a boxer, because he can really get you in his corner, pulling for him. Give 'em hell, Harry! And every once in a while he lands a punch. More often he pulls them, or doesn't swing at all. It's infuriating. So it was with filibuster reform. After the last Senate filibustered damn near everything in a fruitless quest to prevent a second Obama term, Reid threatened to change the rules. To maybe make Senators actual stand in the chambers, talking for hours on end, if they wanted to throw a wrench into the works. Or maybe just make the process more difficult. Reid even extended "day one" of Senate business to keep the option around for a while longer. Then he welched.

Now, he's dangling that carrot again. And I'm in his corner again. I don't have boundless faith that he'll do it. But I'm rooting for him. Dammit.

[Excerpt]

Reid Threatens Filibuster Reform With Nuclear Option 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) threatened in his most explicit terms yet to use the so-called nuclear option to weaken the filibuster if Republicans keep blocking judicial and other nominees from coming to a vote. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Filibuster (Not) Reform

He barely gave 'em heck. Image from source, TPM

I wanted to believe him. At the beginning of the 112th Congress in 2009, we were lead to believe that we might get filibuster reform. After a record number of GOP filibusters in the 111th, Democrats and liberals begged Congress to fix the filibuster; to make a Senator who wanted to block a bill actually get out there and speak. Harry Reid acted as though he might do something about it, but then he didn't. So, the 112th Congress became the most filibusterin'-est Congress in history. They blocked nearly everything, from their own ideas to uncontroversial appointments, their only goal being to thwart Democrats in general and President Obama in specific.

So, this time, frankly, I figured we wouldn't get what we were asking for either. I thought we might get a little taste, but I guessed that Reid was so steeped in the traditions of the Senate, that he wouldn't go for the Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-style rule. And even though I turned out to be right, I'm still bummed out about it. The very idea of working on a "deal" with a cretin like Mitch McConnell is very distasteful. Particularly when you know he was anything--hell, everything--but cooperative with Democrats over the last, oh, forever. But it is what it is. Sadly.

[Excerpt]

Senate Approves Modest Changes To Filibuster Rule

In two votes Thursday evening, the Senate overwhelmingly approved changes to the rules of the chamber, including the rules governing the filibuster. The final votes were 78-16 and 86-9. The approval of the changes was a disappointing ending for reformers, who had sought to dramatically weaken the filibuster, which has come to be used in recent years by the Republican minority with a frequency unprecedented in Senate history. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

"Modest" Filibuster Reform Deal Reached?

Give 'em. . .er. . .heck, Harry? Image from HuffPo.

When "filibuster reform" is discussed in the news or the blogosphere, it is usually characterized as, "ending the filibuster." That's not what has been proposed, by any authority I've seen, anyway. What rank-and-file Democrats have wanted is to make the filibuster more difficult. Not--as it has become--routine. We'd really like that if a Senator threatens a filibuster, he has to get down on the floor and filibuster. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-style. Barring that, we just want it to be tougher to do, and impossible to do in secret.

I can't figure out why this is even a problem for Democrats, who are in the majority. Just do it. I know that they're all squishy about what might happen if they one day find themselves in the minority, but why? You're not getting rid of the thing, you're making it tougher. It should be tougher. It's ludicrous how it is being abused. Harry Reid is working on a "deal" with Mitch McConnell? What on earth for? Just do it. Reid is going to have to put on quite the performance if he caved on this one, in order to not have liberals asking for his head.

[Excerpt]

Filibuster Reform: Senators Reportedly Close To Deal On Modest Limits

Senators may be nearing an end to their partisan dispute over curbing unlimited delays called filibusters. Whatever the resolution, it probably won't require filibustering senators to debate on the Senate floor until exhaustion, like the actor Jimmy Stewart did in the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. . ."

Read more at: Huffington Post

Bi-Partisan Filibuster Reform? Really?

Inspiring. Not. Image from source, TPM.

I hope by "bi-partisan" they mean that the Republicans simply feel like they get a place at the table. Because if it means more like "watered-down so as to not to piss off the GOP" I'm so not on board. The Mitch McChinless McConnell Senate has been ridiculously obstructionist for obstruction's sake. It hasn't even been about principles or ideology, it has been flat out, "we don't like the (black) dude in the White House." They don't deserve any undue deference.

[Excerpt]

Dems Entertain Bipartisan Talks For Filibuster Reform

Democrats are conferring with Republican senators about cutting a deal that would still change some of the Senate’s filibuster rules but avoid a showdown that would force Democrats to advance significant reforms on a majority-rules basis. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo