So much for holiday cheer. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, and his Republican counterpart, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, had a legislative throwdown on the Senate floor Monday afternoon over the future of the filibuster, a sore issue for both parties.
Mr. Reid has said that at the beginning of the next Congress, he will attempt to diminish the power of Republicans to slow or stop legislation by putting limits on the filibuster.
Mr. McConnell, so frosted by proposed rules changes that he called “a mortal threat†to “one of the most cherished safeguards of our government,†took his umbrage to the floor Monday, warning of a “naked power grab†that would eventually “poison party relations even more,†he said.
Senate Republicans have refused to let scores of bills go forward in recent years, often because Mr. Reid will not allow the party to put amendments on those bills. This practice i s deplored by the minority in both chambers, but only in the Senate can bills be stopped through the minority protest. Mr. Reid would like to limit what procedural motions are subject to filibusters, and to force senators to return to the practice of standing around forever, reading the phone book or what have you, if they choose to filibuster a bill before its final passage.
“If a bare majority can proceed to any bill it chooses,†said Mr. McConnell, deeply angry, “and once on that bill the majority leader all by himself can shut out all the amendments that aren't to his liking, then those who elected us to advocate for their views will have lost their voices in this legislative process.â€
Mr. Reid countered that the filibuster was “not part of the Constitution.â€
“It's something we developed here to help get legislation passed,†he said. “Now it's being used to stop legislation from passing.â€
Should be an interesting rest of the year.
