Liberals Clamor for Filibuster Rule Change

Leaders in the Senate indicated yesterday they will begin discussions within weeks about how to change filibuster rules -- which have allowed Republicans in the Senate to block legislation that does not receive 60 votes.

Liberal activists and bloggers hailed the news, after clamoring for Democrats to take action against GOP tactics, which has kept Democrats from advancing key items on their agenda like health care reform.

In a discussion with liberal media outlets Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that the Senate would look at new filibuster rules at the start of the next Congress, the Huffington Post reports.

"The filibuster has been abused. I believe that the Senate should be different than the House and will continue to be different than the House," Reid said. "But we're going to take a look at the filibuster. Next Congress, we're going to take a look at it. We are likely to have to make some changes in it, because the Republicans have abused that just like the spitball was abused in baseball and the four-corner offense was abused in basketball."

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs, would start holding hearings on "how to undo the filibuster rule" in two or three weeks from now, according to the Huffington Post.

Left-leaning commentators say the need for filibuster reform is too obvious for Democratic leaders to ignore.

"When even bills with unanimous support are tied up for weeks on end simply to make a political statement, then the chamber has lost its ability to govern," Mike Lillis of the Washington Independent writes, referring to the drawn-out debate over unemployment legislation, which Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) singlehandedly blocked.

David Dayen of the progressive blog FireDogLake writes that Reid was compelled to address the issue, since both Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have spoken out in favor of filibuster reform -- and either Durbin or Schumer would be expected to take up the role of Senate Majority Leader if Reid loses his re-election bid this fall.

Durbin and Schumer "are each reaching out to junior members who are clamoring for rules reform," Dayen writes. "Whoever comes up with the best option wins the support of the rank and file. Reid, even if he wins, has to get out in front of this by going along... We're getting close to a critical mass on this, provided that Democrats keep their Senate majority and hold enough seats to be able to push this without relying on the problem children of the caucus."

Chris Bowers of the blog OpenLeft agrees that "The dam is breaking wide open. This is no longer a quixotic campaign--it is very winnable."

Bowers is keeping track of senators in favor of changing the filibuster rules and cites 12 senators likely to return to Congress in 2011 who are in favor of letting bills pass with a simple majority, as well as nine likely returning senators in favor of some sort of reform, if not a complete abandonment of the filibuster.

The Senate requires 67 votes to change the rules of the chamber. Matt Yglesias of the Center for American Progress Action Fund explains that Reid could avoid that by taking up the matter at the start of a "new Congress": "To change the Senate's rules takes 67 votes. But one way of looking at it is that after each election you have a brand new Senate that needs to adopt a set of rules and can do so by majority vote."

Conservative pundits are scoffing at the notion Reid would pursue such a tactic.

"Now, with voters trending conservative, the public recoiling at the ruthless partisanship of reconciliation, and the seven most vulnerable Senate seats this fall all held by Democrats, they're going to start talking up some dicey new procedural strategy for next year -- when they'll be on the brink of being returned to the minority themselves in the next election cycle?" asks Hot Air blogger AllahPundit. "I guess, when there's bad news on almost every front, sometimes it's helpful to believe a lie that makes you feel good."

AllahPundit pointed to a Politico article playing down the prospects of filibuster reform.

"Most people don't want to do it," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) said, according to Politico. "I wouldn't waste time on process. I would spend more time on bringing about goodwill."