Four reasons why the latest Democratic ploy to change the Senate filibuster might actually work. [View all]

[DonViejo]

Make ’em Talk

Four reasons why the latest Democratic ploy to change the Senate filibuster might actually work.

By David Weigel

Nobody spits out the word efficiency quite like Mitch McConnell. Every morning this week, the Republican leader has stood behind his desk in the Senate and warned of Democratic tyranny. He’s pronounced the “e” word with contempt so thick it practically fogs his glasses.

“In the name of efficiency,” he said on Monday, “their plan is to use a heavy-handed tactic that would poison party relations even more. In the name of efficiency, they would prevent the very possibility of compromise, and threaten to make the disputes of the past few years look like pillow fights.”

The next day, he characterized Harry Reid’s position as: “We have to make the Senate more efficient, and we have to violate the Senate’s rules to do so, so that he and his colleagues in the majority can implement more easily their vision for America.”

The “heavy-handed” tactic in question is filibuster reform. In 2013, on their third attempt in eight years, senators might actually tweak the filibuster. To understand why Democrats might actually pull this off, you have to understand what “this” is. Democratic aides describe a small number of connected changes, which could be voted through on Jan. 3, the day the new Senate convenes. Only 51 votes are needed to set Senate rules at the start of the year. After that, it would take 67 votes. Democrats will have 53 seats, and two independents who’ve announced they’ll caucus with them.

Currently, the motion to go to ...

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