Filibuster Unlikely To Go Away

My Consider colleague Aaron Bekemeyer had a wonderful post about the filibuster. It’s really a must read. Now it turns out that My state’s very own Senator Durbin is on board the reform-the-filibuster bandwagon:

Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker confirms to me that the Senator supports the new effort, which was unveiled yesterday by Senators Tom Harkin, and Jeanne Shaheen.

The Harkin proposal would officially amend the process by which a filibuster is broken, allowing a four-step process that could eventually allow it to be broken by a majority vote. The first vote would require 60 votes to break the filibuster, followed by motions requiring 57, 54, and finally, 51 votes.

The key is that Durbin is apparently playing an active role in backing the Harkin effort. A senior leadership aide tells me Durbin is “in talks with a number of other Democratic senators regarding possible changes to Senate rules.”

This is very good news for filibuster-haters like myself. Durbin is a major player in the senate so his support is a big gain. Still, as Greg Sargent notes (link above), it’s not a sure thing that this attempt will be successful. The filibuster is the only thing that has stopped President Obama from passing most of his agenda making it invaluable to the Republicans’ current strategy. And that fact makes it doubtful that any of them will sign on with Durbin and his allies —who need Republican support.

To reform the filibuster there needs to be 67 votes in favor. The Democrats alone can’t even get 60 votes for a bill the minority party doesn’t like. How are they going to get 67? And when the tides turn (because sooner or later the Democrats will be in the minority in the senate again) they too will love the filibuster. That’s how it’s been in the past and it’s likely to how it’s going to be for the forseable future.

I don’t mean to be a downer here. I would leave to see the wretched filibuster go, I just have trouble picturing when that will happen though.

–Daniel Strauss