Reid says anti-filibuster bill going nowhere

Frustrated by incessant delays in getting things done, two Senate Democrats introduced a bill today that would eventually eliminate filibusters case-by-case on individual bills.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada indicated the effort is not going anywhere. Paul Kane of The Washington Post gives the lay of the land in a blog posting today.

Reid surely remembered the all-out battle in 2005, when Republicans who controlled the Senate flirted with the rules change known as the "nuclear option" that would have prevented filibusters as a way to push through a handful of controversial judicial nominees.

Reid, then the minority leader, argued then that eliminating the filibuster would change the very nature of the Senate, where it serves as a check to protect the rights of the minority.

The 2005 fight was defused at the last minute when 14 moderate senators who became known as the "Gang of 14" proposed a compromise that held.

But as time has passed, the threats of filibusters have served to reduce the Senate to a crawl on most every piece of controversial legislation.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said today "the aim of the filibuster has been turned completely upside down."

Harkin and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., introduced the rules change calling for a four-step process to end filibusters on specific bills.

Asked about the proposed rules change, Reid said he believed that Senate rules can only be changed by a two-thirds vote — and good luck with getting that kind of majority in the Senate these days.

"Well, I love Tom Harkin," Reid told reporters. "I'm totally familiar with his idea. It takes 67 votes. And that kind of answers the question."