Senators wary of filibuster 'nuclear option'
Influential senators, fearful of Majority Leader Harry Reid’s
threat to jam filibuster changes through the Senate early next year,
have begun back-channel talks to avoid what critics dub the “nuclear
option.”
(Also on POLITICO: Right blogs: Filibuster 'bully' Reid)
The proposal would be the first order of business in the next Congress if Reid follows through.
So top Senate Republicans — including John McCain of Arizona, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — are trying to head off the showdown. They’re reaching out to Democrats who have expressed concerns about changing the rules by 51 votes, including Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Carl Levin of Michigan. And Republicans are reaching out to a key Reid ally, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat and chairman of the Rules Committee, to see whether a deal can be cut before the new Congress convenes in January.
McCain called it a “meeting of the minds.”
“I’d like to see what we agree on and where we can share our mutual concerns,” the Arizona Republican said.
“We’d all like to avert the nuclear option,” Schumer told POLITICO, but he would only say there were lots of conversations occurring between different groups of senators.
“I’m not a fan of this,” Pryor said of the 51-vote option. “I’m talking to my Democratic and Republican colleagues about changing some things around here that would make the place run better but would also honor the integrity of our traditions around here.”
Several participants say these talks aren’t quite like the Gang of 14 negotiations in 2005. The group’s bipartisan deal preserved the use of the filibuster on judicial nominees and averted a Republican-led push to impose the nuclear option. But informal talks among various senators are picking up, with some hoping the efforts could lead to a series of bipartisan proposals that can be presented to Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell when their negotiations begin in earnest.
During floor votes, on the Senate subway and over
breakfast meetings, senators from both parties are quietly trading ideas
to avoid the precedent-setting move to alter filibuster rules with a
simple majority — rather than two-thirds — vote. They’re alarmed that
the move could fundamentally change the Senate: Future majorities could
cite such a precedent to change whatever rules they want in an
institution designed to protect the rights of the minority.
Frustrated by gridlock and buoyed by a supportive incoming freshman class, Reid
appears close to securing enough support in his caucus to force through
a series of revised rules on a party-line vote. The Democratic leader’s
proposal would prohibit filibusters in a handful of cases. And senators
couldn’t filibuster simply by threatening one; they’d have to actually
carry out a talkathon session.(Also on POLITICO: Right blogs: Filibuster 'bully' Reid)
The proposal would be the first order of business in the next Congress if Reid follows through.
So top Senate Republicans — including John McCain of Arizona, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — are trying to head off the showdown. They’re reaching out to Democrats who have expressed concerns about changing the rules by 51 votes, including Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Carl Levin of Michigan. And Republicans are reaching out to a key Reid ally, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat and chairman of the Rules Committee, to see whether a deal can be cut before the new Congress convenes in January.
McCain called it a “meeting of the minds.”
“I’d like to see what we agree on and where we can share our mutual concerns,” the Arizona Republican said.
“We’d all like to avert the nuclear option,” Schumer told POLITICO, but he would only say there were lots of conversations occurring between different groups of senators.
“I’m not a fan of this,” Pryor said of the 51-vote option. “I’m talking to my Democratic and Republican colleagues about changing some things around here that would make the place run better but would also honor the integrity of our traditions around here.”
Several participants say these talks aren’t quite like the Gang of 14 negotiations in 2005. The group’s bipartisan deal preserved the use of the filibuster on judicial nominees and averted a Republican-led push to impose the nuclear option. But informal talks among various senators are picking up, with some hoping the efforts could lead to a series of bipartisan proposals that can be presented to Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell when their negotiations begin in earnest.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/harry-reid-filibuster-84807.html#ixzz2Eenzz8iB
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