wrong
when kenndy died obama lost his 60 votes in the senate and the reps have been filibustering ever since
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has regularly used a procedural tactic called “filling the amendment tree” to restrict Senators’ right to debate and offer amendments. While previous Majority Leaders have occasionally used this tactic, Senator Reid has used this tactic often—more than all of his predecessors combined. This tactic combined with another parliamentary maneuver and demonization of the filibuster threatens to squelch dissent in the Senate and further constrict the national debate on important political issues. The Senate could better serve the American people by ending the use of this tactic. The United States Senate is becoming less open and deliberative because Senators’ right to debate and offer amendments has been severely restricted. These changes in how the Senate operates and debates issues have occurred over a long period of time, but the restrictions have accelerated under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV). Since Reid became Majority Leader in the United States Senate, the majority party has tyrannically seized control of the agenda in the Senate in a manner not contemplated by the Founding Fathers. This abuse of power is an affront to Senate traditions and is chipping away at democracy.
Reid has also used a parliamentary maneuver to block motions to suspend the rules after debate is completed, further constraining the right of Members to offer amendments. Because of Reid’s tactic of blocking amendments during debate, suspending the rules after debate had become the only safety valve for Senators to offer amendments. These two Reid parliamentary tactics have made most Senators irrelevant to the national debates facing Americans today.
Furthermore, Reid and his allies have demonized the filibuster. Many times the filibuster is a tool to extend debate and force the Majority Leader to allow a freer and open amendment process. There is nothing wrong with a Senator filibustering a bill or nomination; therefore, demonizing use of the filibuster is yet another means to squelch dissent.
For example, in 2012, the Senate debated the Violence Against Women Act, reauthorization of the U.S. Postal Service, the “Buffett Rule,” a congressional insider trading bill, a highway bill, a payroll tax holiday, and a resolution of disapproval on a debt limit increase. On many of these bills, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used a procedural tactic to severely limit amendments and debate.
In many of these circumstances, Members other than Reid offered amendments, but Majority Leader Reid “filled the tree” on some of those bills and then allowed only certain amendments after a lengthy debate. In this way, Reid became a gatekeeper on the amendment process. The tactic allowed Reid to veto any issue that he did not want debated, stifling the process and deterring many Senators from fully participating in debate.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/06/tyranny-in-the-united-states-senate
