Now’s the time to fix the filibuster
The momentum for filibuster reform in the Senate is real, and there’s a very good chance that something will happen when the body convenes at the beginning of January. Reformers believe that the beginning of a congress gives them a unique opportunity to change the rules surrounding the filibuster with a simple majority vote, instead of the 60-vote supermajority required by literal Senate rules. I disagree with that to some extent: I think that in fact a dedicated majority can find ways to change the rules at any point. But I agree change on Opening Day for the Senate is at least more in keeping with traditions and norms, and so I think it makes sense for them to move ahead now.
The problem, very simply, is that filibusters have exploded in the Senate. It was once a rare procedure used to block legislation only in cases where the minority was intensely opposed. But then, in 1993, minority Republicans started using it against every major initiative President Bill Clinton proposed; and by 2009 Republicans were deploying it all the time. What that’s created is a true 60-vote Senate — because a supermajority of 60 votes is needed to defeat a filibuster — on every bill and every nomination. Combine procedural moves to require 60 votes with often-unanimous opposition by the minority party, and the Senate has become deeply dysfunctional. At this point, even most supporters of the filibuster believe some reform is needed.
It’s clear that, like it (as I do) or not (and many liberal reformers do not), the Senate will be modifying, not eliminating, the filibuster. There aren’t going to be the votes for the Senate to move from a 60-vote chamber to a body that, like the House, is ruled by the majority party, period. Few senators want that, so it isn’t going to happen
The trick, then, is finding a reform that falls somewhere between those two options.