Dem Effort to Kill the Filibuster Fails

Good:

A Democratic-led drive to limit the power of the filibuster to stall legislation faded Thursday in favor of more modest reforms, showing that not even an era of unprecedented political obstruction could convince senators to change the way they do business.

The Senate beat back legislation championed by junior Democrats who have grown frustrated with the ability of a single senator to block legislation unless a supermajority of 60 can be mustered, a tactic the Republican minority has used to great success.

The newer members, along with a few veterans, argued that the Senate had succumbed to institutional dysfunction because of the filibuster, which allows senators to thwart the will of the majority — much the way epic filibusters of a previous generation stalled civil rights bills, they said.

Yet it was precisely the Founding Fathers' vision of the Senate as a slower-moving legislative body, one that tempers legislation passed quickly by a simple majority in the House, that helped convince senators to retain the status quo.

Harry Reid didn't want this to pass because he can foresee a day when Democrats will once again be in the minority...like 2013. Neither he nor Mitch McConnell were willing to risk what would happen should this pass.