Reid Open to Filibuster Reform

Filibuster reform just got a big boost: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would review filibuster rules at the beginning of the next Congress and that changes to them are “likely.” “The filibuster has been abused,” Reid said. “I believe that the Senate should be different than the House and will continue to be different than the House. But we're going to take a look at the filibuster. Next Congress, we're going to take a look at it. We are likely to have to make some changes in it, because the Republicans have abused that just like the spitball was abused in baseball and the four-corner offense was abused in basketball.” How will the rule change work? The Huffington Post explains: “[C]hanging the rules at the beginning of the 112th Congress will require the chair to declare the Senate is in a new session and can legally draft new rules. That ruling would be made by Vice President Joe Biden, who has spoken out against the current abuse of the filibuster. The ruling can be appealed, but that appeal can be defeated with a simple majority vote.”