It’s quite possible that Harry Reid didn’t have the votes in his own caucus to really weaken the filibuster, but he raised expectations too high and came off looking like a chump who won’t stand up for himself. I hope Sen. Tom Harkin is wrong, but I fear that he is not:
The deal preserves the concept of the modern Senate as a body in which 60 votes are required to get most things done, which has drawn the ire of liberals, such as Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, and a host of outside groups. Harkin predicted President Barack Obama’s agenda will suffer as a result of the deal.
“I said to President Obama back in August … and the night before the election, ‘If you get re-elected and we don’t do something significant about filibuster reform, you might as well take a four-year vacation,” Harkin said.
The deal Harry Reid struck with Mitch McConnell was not significant. It was a lost opportunity that did not take into consideration Mitch McConnell’s precarious reelection prospects and desire to avoid a primary from his right. It forecloses the one hope we had to advance legislation through the Senate and force the House to respond. It was an abdication of duty. And the only hope left now is that Obama can change the political landscape somehow, either through his Organizing for Action group, or through some fortuitous and yet unforeseen events.