And so the
Democrats begin to dictate terms to the GOP, a party that has already sold out its
principles by agreeing to raise taxes on the upper 2%.
Filibuster
reform has become a headache for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Reid is
stuck in the middle, between liberal senators pushing hard for drastic reform
and senior Democrats balking at changing the culture of the upper
chamber.
Powerful
liberal groups and left-leaning lawmakers see filibuster reform as necessary to
advancing President Obama’s second-term agenda, which includes immigration
reform and gun-control legislation.
“The
president can’t act on legislation if the Senate can’t act on legislation, and
therefore it’s so important that we end the secret silent filibuster that has
plagued this body,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), a leading proponent of
reform.
A coalition
of liberal groups met at the headquarters of the National Education Association
(NEA) shortly after Obama won reelection to set strategy for advancing his
second-term agenda. One of the primary goals emerging from the meeting was
enacting filibuster reform.
Senate
Democrats debated how to proceed during a lunch meeting that stretched for more
than an hour Tuesday — and left the room with little resolved.
Reid has
begun to show signs of impatience with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
(Ky.), with whom he has been negotiating for weeks. He said Tuesday that he and
McConnell have made progress, but added, “[W]e’ve got a long way to go.”
The Nevada
Democrat said he would give Republicans another 24 to 36 hours to agree to
filibuster reform and then trigger the so-called nuclear option. This
controversial tactic would allow him to change the Senate rules with a simple
majority vote.
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