McClatchy has a teaser up this afternoon, that offers hope for all of us so frustrated by the 60 vote rule currently used to pass legislation in the Senate.
White House may seek to bypass filibuster rule in Senate
A top White House official threatened Tuesday to use a congressional rule to force some controversial proposals through the Senate by eliminating the Republicans' power to block legislation.
Peter Orszag, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the Obama administration would prefer not to use the budget "reconciliation" process that allows measures to pass the Senate on simple majority votes.
Finally! Is there somebody up there that knows how to play this game?
The legislative tactic is being considered to push through Obama's global warming and health care programs, and perhaps his proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy.
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Members of Congress are bracing for a political donnybrook should the Democrats use the reconciliation process to sidestep the Republicans and their power of the filibuster in the Senate. Under normal Senate rules, it requires 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to shut off debate and force a final vote. Democrats currently have 58 Senate votes. Under reconciliation, 51 votes can force anything through.
Like most of you, I learned that in a democracy the rule of the majority is determined by 50 votes, plus one. Not in the Republican world, however. They have twisted the rules in the Senate so throughly that the Democrats have accepted the "60 votes to pass" rule (or, a cloture votes on every piece of legislation) as de rigeur.
There is plenty of historical precedent of using it by both parties, including Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who used it force through big tax cuts.
"Pretty much every major piece of budget legislation going back to April 1981, April '82, April 1990, April 1993, the 1990 act, the 2001 tax legislation, they were all done through reconciliation. Yet somehow this is being presented as an unusual thing," Orszag said.
"The historical norm as opposed to the exception is for a major piece of budget legislation to move through reconciliation."
Peter Orszag is floating this threat to get the Republicans to the table. But, it is a threat that Harry Reid should have unloaded months ago.
Orszag said that President Barack Obama is aware of the objections from Republicans that the reconciliation would cut them out of the loop on major legislation. He said the administration would prefer to get "major legislation without it."
Have we finally got a White House that "gets it"? Woo Whoooo!!