101,960 have already signed since the petition was started at 1310 (1:10 PM ET) 23JAN13. This from the Washington Post.....
Wonkbook’s Number of the Day: 41. That’s the number of votes the minority would have to muster to keep a filibuster going under the stronger version of Reid’s filibuster reforms. That would be a reversal of the current situation, where rather than the minority needing to find 41 votes to keep a filibuster going, the majority needs to find 60 to stop it. The result would be that filibusters are much more difficult for the minority, as at least 41 of them have to show up to vote whenever the majority leader decides to schedule the vote — say, 3 a.m. on a Saturday.
Top story: Filibuster reform comes in two flavors
A watered-down deal to reform the filibuster is taking shape. “Senate Democratic and Republican leaders are nearing new limits on the filibuster in an effort to speed action in the often-clogged chamber by prohibiting senators from using a common tactic to slow the legislative process. Lawmakers and aides said the new rules, which both sides were preparing to announce on Thursday, would end the use of [filibusters on motions to proceed].” Jeremy W. Peters in The New York Times.
Democrats say they have the votes for something stronger. “Democratic aides tell me that the party is not likely to accept a Reid-McConnell reform deal unless it includes a change that “flips” the filibuster. Instead of the majority requiring 60 votes to block a bill, the minority would need to muster 41 votes to block a bill.” David Weigel in Slate.
@dandrezner: The House suspends using the debt ceiling as a bargaining tactic; the Senate engages in filibuster reform. This is not the Congress I know..
Is Mitch McConnell a filibuster reformer’s best hope? “The last, best hope for filibuster reformers is that McConnell won't take Reid's deal. In that case, Reid is preparing a backup plan that includes both of the items in the Reid-McConnell talks and one more: An innovative reform that changes who bears the burden for cloture votes.” Ezra Klein in The Washington Post.
How the GOP weighs filibuster reform. “What are the incentives for Republicans on Senate reform? Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) has been, quite properly in my view, offering them a choice: work out a bipartisan package of moderate reforms that can be passed with the 67 votes required by Senate rules (or perhaps with 60 but having reform expire at the end of the current Congress), or else Democrats will move forward with a much stronger package of majority-imposed reform.” Jonathan Bernstein in The Washington Post.
@ezraklein: Looks like filibuster reform is weakening in the Senate.
The fall of filibuster reform. “Further complicating matters--and potentially rendering the whole exercise onanistic--Reid isn’t sure he wants to support his own weak reform at all. He’d rather work out some sort of deal with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who doesn’t sound like he wants any rule change.” Timothy Noah in The New Republic.
Filibuster longread: Let’s Talk, in the New Yorker.
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