Good idea, but . . .

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) plans to reintroduce a bill to change the filibuster process in the Senate, similar to one he co-sponsored with Joe Lieberman in the early 1990s.

It would work like this: an initial vote for cloture to end debate and vote on a measure would still require 60 votes. But if that failed another vote could be taken in 2 days and would require only 57 votes. This could be repeated 2 days later, requiring 54, and then a final time 2 days after that and requiring only a simple majority of 51.

It would allow a vote to be delayed for more careful consideration, but it would not allow a bill to be killed if it could not get 60 supporters.

Take politics out of it, and how could anyone not think this is a reasonable plan? The problem is it will take 2/3 majority to change the Senate rules (although there is some opinion that it takes only a simple majority to change the rules on the first day of a new session -- but I guess that's already passed by for this session). And whichever party is not in power will oppose it, even if they would like it when they're in power.

Still, it's worth Harkin's trouble to bring it up again, because it keeps the idea before us that this is a rule of the Senate's own making, and they can change it. It's not in the Constitution.

Ralph