



What can Democrats cling to in the hopes of stopping a far-right stampede? Well, there’s always the Senate filibuster.



Democratic hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority came up short this year, but the party did add two seats to their caucus, setting up a likely 52-48 Senate. As anyone who watched Congress during the Obama era knows, it takes 60 votes to get anything of any significance through the chamber, which means Dems have an opportunity to do exactly what Republicans did when the tables were reversed.



Naturally, it means some Republicans are eager to eliminate the one thing that could slow the party’s agenda down. CNN Republican dominance of the federal government, at least for now, is not in doubt. In two months, a radicalized GOP will control the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House. Soon after, Republican appointees will also dominate the Supreme Court – probably for a long while.What can Democrats cling to in the hopes of stopping a far-right stampede? Well, there’s always the Senate filibuster.Democratic hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority came up short this year, but the party did add two seats to their caucus, setting up a likely 52-48 Senate. As anyone who watched Congress during the Obama era knows, it takes 60 votes to get anything of any significance through the chamber, which means Dems have an opportunity to do exactly what Republicans did when the tables were reversed.Naturally, it means some Republicans are eager to eliminate the one thing that could slow the party’s agenda down. CNN reported yesterday that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) believes it’s time for his party to get rid of the filibuster so GOP lawmakers can do whatever they please.

[R]adio host Charlie Sykes inquired if Walker wanted to get rid of the filibuster, which would allow Republicans to pass bills with a simply majority in the Senate.



“Yeah, I’ve said it last year,” Walker said. “To me, I think that would really upset the electorate of the people who not only elected Donald Trump and Mike Pence but the people who elected [Ron Johnson in Wisconsin] and elected other members of the House and the Senate. You cannot use, they cannot use inside-the-ballpark Washington procedural reason to justify why things don’t happen. They’ve got to get things done and as I said frequently here in this state and continue to, the best time to do them is early.”