OK, here’s my idea: mend it, don’t end it. How about if both parties agree to a limited number of cloture votes per congressional session? Let’s say, 20 per session per party. Ditto for holds. Maybe one per senator per session. The minority would still have a broad ability to force a supermajority on major legislation like healthcare reform, or to hold a nominee who they considered truly noxious, but they wouldn’t have the ability to simply bring the Senate to a grinding halt out of pique or pure partisan rancor.
I know, I know, it’s not going to happen. But it would be interesting if it did! Maybe even better than pure majority rule, since it would introduce some genuinely intriguing strategy and maneuvering to Senate procedures. Sort of like coaches deciding when to burn timeouts or challenge rulings on the field during a football game. It would also give party leaders some much-needed additional power, since they’d necessarily be the clearinghouse for filibusters. Who’s with me?
