Aren’t we happy now that the republicans, when they had power, did not change the cloture rules?

Remember, a few years ago, republicans wanted to make filibustering a lot harder. 60 votes, then 57 votes, then 54 votes or something. which would have made stopping the amnesty bill easier to pass now.

That was on judges, but it wouldn’t have been difficult to apply it to any piece of legistlation.

I think it was the nuclear option wasn’t it?

http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/4656.html

Smith, an expert on parliamentary procedure and rulemaking in congress, suggests a more practical and feasible solution would be to consider changes in the Senate’s Rule 22, under which 60 votes are required to cut off debate on a pending nomination and to bring the Senate to a vote on confirmations. He says the rule should be changed so that over a two-week period, the number of votes required for cloture (the end of legislative discussion) would fall from 60 to 57 to 54 and finally to 51. In this way, the Senate would have more than enough time to debate and educate the public so a vote could take place.

lorien1973 on June 16, 2007 at 3:06 PM