The filibuster’s massive rise from a rarely used expression of strong dissent to a routine supermajority requirement has prompted Harry Reid to promise to reform the rules at the start of the next term. Today Mitch McConnell angrily threatened that if Reid wants to do that, he might as well change the rules himself and go ahead and repeal the Affordable Care Act with a majority vote:
>“Let’s assume we have a new president, and I’m the majority leader next time and we’re operating at 51,” McConnell said, “I wonder how comforting that is to my friends on the other side. How does it make you feel about the security of Obamacare, for example?”
Ooh, repealing Obamacare with a majority vote — scary! Except that McConnell has already threatened to do this anyway through budget reconciliation rules, which don’t require a supermajority. That’s not really much of a deterrent.
Ooh, repealing Obamacare with a majority vote — scary! Except that McConnell has already threatened to do this anyway through budget reconciliation rules, which don’t require a supermajority. That’s not really much of a deterrent.
