Over at TPM, Josh Marshall wonders why, even though there appear to be the votes for requiring a full talking filibuster, that Harry Reid seems to be pushing for something weaker.
My take on this is that Reid, and other Senators of long tenure, are doing this because they have drunk the Koolaid* about the Senate being the, “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body.”
They want to protect what they see as the “unique character” of the Senate, and so they are leery of making more sweeping changes.
So, to paraphrase Alexei Sayle, they say “Worlds Greatest Deliberative Body”, and we say “Petri Dish for Narcissistic Sociopaths.”
The Senate ran for decades on tacit agreements that were never a formal part of the rules, and the social contract within the body has broken down, and so the formal rules need to change.
Word now is that the vote on the Senate Rules will be on the 22nd, and I am not optimistic.
*It was actually either Wyler’s or Flavor Aid at Jonestown, reports differ, not Koolaid.