@ezraklein I will repeat my suggestion from years past: there is no need to eliminate entirely Rule XXII. Simply change the threshold for ending debate and moving to a vote from 60 needed to stop debate to 40 needed to continue it. Put the burden where it belongs, on the minority. 1
@ezraklein Make the minority be there around the clock; sleep on cots, be ready to jump up at any hour to vote. If at any time they drop below 40, the delay can stop. The majority simply needs to have a couple of members there to block bad steps and note the absence of a quorum. 2
@ezraklein If the GOP, for example, wanted to filibuster a set of democracy reforms that expand voting rights and act against partisan gerrymandering, let them go round the clock, creating a major issue and highlighting their opposition to reform. Same for other issues of social justice. 3
@ezraklein At some point, fatigue will set in, or public opinion will force them to back off. This kind of change-- actually putting the burden back where it belongs, on the minority-- is less dramatic than full filibuster repeal, but keeps the essence of the Senate and will work. 4
