Dan Coats (R), Indiana’s senator-elect, has called on his fellow Republicans to consider filibuster reform next year.
Senate Democrats held several hearings on changing the Senate’s filibuster rule, which requires unanimous consent or 60 votes to conduct even routine business.
Senate Republicans have resisted such proposals.
But Republicans are confident they will capture control of the upper chamber in the 2012 election, when 23 Senate Democrats — including two independents allied with their caucus — face re-election.
Some Republicans think they also have a good chance of defeating President Obama in two years because of the sluggish economy and his low approval rating.
Coats, who served in the Senate from 1989 to 1999 endorsed, said his Republican and Democratic colleagues should consider changing rules to lower the barriers to passing bold legislation.
“It is a barrier,” he said of the need for 60 votes to cut off dilatory floor debate. “At the very least we need to remove the 60-vote rule for bringing a bill to the floor and actually debating it and voting on it.”
Ah... that sure sound like a look ahead at triple deck of Republicans and planning to lower the bar for what it takes to pass legislation in the Senate... Well, they have Citizens United on their side. So, triple deck can happen easily.
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Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010 Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010