Politics: Fili-busted

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Politics Fili-busted Democrats pull back from the nuclear option on filibuster reform. Did they get a bum deal? By David Weigel Posted Friday, Jan 25, 2013, at 12:55 AM ET Angus King was the reason Democrats thought they could kill the filibuster. Last year, the liberal-minded former governor of Maine ran for the U.S. Senate. He was an independent when he'd run the state, a character who requested Rolling Stones songs at his inaugurals, banging the cowbell when the band played "Honky Tonk Women." He'd be an independent in Washington. On the trail, though, he sounded ready to join Sen. Harry Reid's caucus. If Washington was broken, it wasn't Reid's fault. It was because Republicans were mangling legislative procedures like the filibuster. "As I understand it," he told the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe last summer, "all you have to do is have Mitch McConnell call Harry Reid and say, 'I'll filibuster,' and there you go, it needs 60 votes. That's ridiculous. The Constitution doesn't say that … my view of the filibuster is either you've got to lower the vote edge or make people really filibuster." King won easily, replacing a Republican moderate and boosting the Democrats' majority to 55 seats. Filibuster reformers, led by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, suddenly had the numbers to outvote a shrunken group of "old bulls" and moderates who weren't ready to force a majority-rules reform through the Senate. Whenever reporters asked, Merkley would say he had 51 votes for reforms that would force the minority party to actually stay on the floor and filibuster bills and ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Tested in Battle How Much Did the Gun Lobby Donate to Your Member of Congress? Play the Slate News Quiz	Advertisement
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