Slowly but surely, more current and potential Senators are coming out in favor of reforming Senate rules regarding the filibuster. Greg Sargent gets the quote from Sanders:
Separately, Sanders told me in the Senate hallway that he's "absolutely on board" with filibuster reform. "We've gotta reform it," Sanders said. "The present situation leads to dysfunctionality."
"I may well support the Harkin effort," Sanders added. "But if not that, some other effort."
For those who don't remember, the Harkin effort effectively means a 51-vote Senate. However, we are also counting supporters of any sort of filibuster reform, including Senators like Robert Byrd who want to keep the filibuster but no longer make it "painless."
In addition to Sanders, Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who is running for Senate in Ohio, also came out in favor of reform today. From Fisher's campaign website:
End the Filibuster
Washington is broken - and the filibuster is being abused, halting progress on the big issues facing our nation.
I believe we should abolish the filibuster. If you agree, please join me by signing our petition in support of filibuster reform today!
PETITION TEXT:
I support ending the filibuster, which has been repeatedly abused by Washington Republicans to paralyze Congress and halt progress on the big issues facing our nation.
Ohio is a winnable Senate campaign, so this is meaningful. Also, I will attempt to contact Fisher's primary opponent, Jennifer Brunner, to see where she stands on filibuster reform.
With these new additions, here are the current supporters for filibuster reform:
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Filibuster Reform Whip Count
50 Senators who are currently safe bets for being in Senate in 2011
Potential Senators in 2011
Note: While Evan Bayh also favors some sort of filibuster reform, he is retiring and the opportunity for reform comes on the first day the Senate is in session in 2011. On that day, only 50 votes, plus the Vice-President, are required to change Senate rules. Right now, among 2011 Senators, there are at least 18, and as many as 21, in favor of some sort of reform.
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For a supposedly quixotic effort, changing filibuster rules has a surprising number of supporters from all over the ideological spectrum in the Democratic Party. We are going to be more than halfway to the necessary supporters before the end of the month.
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