Mitch McConnell, The Filibuster King: Preparation for His Abdication

It looks as if the Senate may have recently established a new precedent in the annals of legislative acrobatics.  Minority Leader Mitch McConnell  (R-Harrumphing Old White Dudes) has filibustered his own bill.  

Initially,  he set out to prove a point:  that his Democratic colleagues didn't have enough votes to give the President sole authority to raise the national debt limit.   However, they were able to call his bluff and produce the required number of votes.

The Democrats' bill was actually based on one proposed by Mr.  McConnell himself last year.   So once he recognized that the support was there to bring the measure forward,  he actually filibustered his own bill.

According to those keeping count,  this latest action represents the Good Senator's  Filibuster Number 386  in recent years.   Tellingly,  it's only since President Obama's first term began,   that the filibuster has been used so liberally.  Employing this tactic seemed to be very much in synch with McConnell's  stated intention  "to make President Obama a one-term president."  We all know how that worked out.

According to an  1892 Supreme Court ruling,  United  States v.  Ballin,  Senate rules can be changed by a simple majority vote.  Nevertheless,  that simple majority vote could itself be filibustered under present rules. 

However,  the Democrats still have a chance to reform the filibuster.   According to  Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren  (D-Massachusetts),  a unique opportunity exists during the earliest days of a new congress to alter the filibuster rule with just a simple majority vote versus the normal two-thirds.  The intent isn't to scuttle it,  but to make it less subject to abuse by tightening the standards under which it can be implemented.

Hopefully,  it'll work.   It's  sorta like unclogging a commode in order to restore the flow,  in reference to either legislation or   --- uh --- the other stuff.   Just a matter of finding the right plunger.