Filibuster reform has its opponents

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made it very clear he intends to pursue changes to rules governing the use of the Congressional institution known as the filibuster. He has said he plans to pursue a change in the Senate back to its previous rule where a senator would be required to continuously hold the floor in order to block legislation, as opposed to now where a senator can simply state that he or she intends to pursue a filibuster. “We’re going to change the rules. We cannot continue in this way,” said Reid. Republicans however, have made it equally clear they do not support such a move and do not agree that it will make the Senate work more efficiently. Rather, most have indicated they believe the filibuster preserves the rights of the minority and call altering it the “nuclear option.” On the other hand, some critics have pointed out Reid is proposing not to get rid of the filibuster, simply to reform it, and even doubt that such reform would really change anything.