From the Washington Post:...the new math of Obama-era politics gives Maine influence out of proportion to its size."The Democrats have 58 members in the Senate (if you include two independents who caucus with that side of the aisle), and the Republicans have 41 members. There used to be a day when such a comfortable majority would roll most legislation through for the president's signature without much effort. If a member of the opposition wanted to filibuster, they would have to stand up and give speeches, debate the issue, or in some other fashion delay voting on the bill in question by speaking non-stop until the body was able to put together 60 votes to put an end to the action. (Read a book, read the Bible, read a pamphlet...anything, so long as they kept speaking. This was portrayed brilliantly in the film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.")
The reason: Democrats need to woo Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to pass legislation in the U.S. Senate.
However, the last decade or so has seen the Senate rule on the filibuster change. Continuous floor speeches are no longer required, and it seems that each and every bill that reaches the floor must, essentially, be passed by a super-majority of 60 votes.
If the stimulus bill was a case study in how the current Republican minority plans to approach President Obama's agenda, then things are going to get much more cantankerous over the next couple of years as the Republicans demand a super-majority on anything and everything.
As such, when any Senator (Republican or Democrat) asks for 60 votes to move legislation forward, Majority Leader Harry Reid should exercise his right under the Senate rules to require a traditional filibuster, requiring each member who makes such a request to stand on the Senate floor and speak, non-stop, until they voluntarily end the action themselves, or until the chamber can muster the 60 votes needed to stop it. And if that takes 4 hours, 12 hours, or several days, then so be it. But it's time to stop abusing the filibuster.
