Few issues animate loyal Democrats like the idea that major pieces of legislation on things like health care and climate change -- among others -- can't be passed through a Senate where their party controls 18 more seats than do Republicans. (Comedy Central's Jon Stewart dedicated an entire segment to the 59-seat problem.)So who wants to tell Cillizza he answered his own question three paragraphs above? Considering 70%+ of Americans don't know how a filibuster works ANYWAY, getting rid of it will allow the Dems to do just what they need to be able to do.
By making the filibuster a political issue, the White House may be hoping to turn the base's anger at the way things are being done in Washington away from an inward focus on the party's unwillingness to change the rules and toward Republicans for their legislative blocking.
Midterm elections tend to be a battle of base turnout. And, poll after poll shows a significant intensity gap between the Republican base, which is as passionate as it has been since at least 2000, and the Democratic base, which is far less energized at the moment.
The filibuster focus is an interesting gambit from a White House that made its name during the 2008 campaign for being one step ahead of the rest of the political world. Could they have outsmarted all of us again? Or is a focus on parliamentary maneuvering far too small bore to move the needle?
Pass legislation with a majority. Really is that simple.
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