The filibuster question

Vice President Biden raises the issue, and the possibility of eliminating the Senate procedure

Published January 18, 2010 5:05PM (EST)

Suddenly, Vice President Biden isn't a big fan of the filibuster.

"As long as I have served ... I've never seen, as my uncle once said, the Constitution stood on its head as they've done. This is the first time every single solitary decisions has required 60 senators," Biden said at a recent fundraiser. "No democracy has survived needing a super majority."

It seems very unlikely that this is some sort of trial balloon, that the Democrats will move to employ the so-called "nuclear option" and end the filibuster. But hey, anything's possible -- and this discussion could suddenly become very relevant come Wednesday morning, if Republican Scott Brown prevails in the special election to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

MORE FROM Alex Koppelman


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