Will Democrats Pull The Plug On The Filibuster?

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Will Democrats Pull The Plug On The Filibuster? Authored by J.T. Young via RealClearPolitics,The Senate filibuster will be the canary in Democrats' congressional coal mine. It…

The Senate filibuster will be the canary in Democrats' congressional coal mine. It will show how far Democrats are willing to go in using their new majority to pursue their agenda - and just how far they intend that agenda to go.

Following November's blue wave, Democrats will have their largest congressional majorities in years. In the House, they will be able to pass anything they please. But in the Senate, things will be different. There, even with potentially 58 votes, Democrats' legislation can be derailed by a filibuster.

The filibuster is a Senate institution, but it is neither a provision in the Constitution nor an original one in the Senate. Apparently, it was created by accident in 1806 - a reactive act of omission, not a proactive act of commission - in a rulebook change suggested by Vice President Aaron Burr.

Over its long history it has evolved and been relaxed by both parties: A two-thirds vote is no longer needed to end it, and it doesn't apply to presidential nominations or Supreme Court appointments. Still, its current 60-vote threshold is formidable in today's highly partisan atmosphere.

Democrats have made plain their disdain for the filibuster for some time - even as it has served their purposes, as in recently blocking Republicans' SAVE Act voter reforms. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has spoken in the past about changing it.

The last time Democrats held a Senate majority, only its narrowness and the refusal of Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to abolish the filibuster preserved it. The question now: Will any of Democrats' new senators, who have no institutional memory of the filibuster or experience in the minority, fill those moderate shoes?

How can a seemingly foregone conclusion facing so large a majority be Democrats' canary in the coal mine? Because there is no real reason to abandon it in this Congress.

Unlike the filibuster, which is just a Senate rule, the veto is a constitutional check on Congress' legislating ability.

For…

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