Half Measures

The trouble here with filibuster reform is likely that Harry Reid used these same filibuster rules well when George Bush was President, and he's afraid of diluting his own power should the Democrats end up in the minority again. Nevertheless, even he has to see that phoning in threats is useless. He will have to take action:

So Harry Reid and other Senate Dem leaders are again threatening to revisit filibuster reform, in response to a procedural move by a GOP Senator that blocked a vote from moving forward on the Senate Democratic plan to continue funding the government:

“It is things like that that will cause the Senate to have to reassess all the rules because right now they accomplish so little,” Reid said late Tuesday on the Senate floor. “I’m disappointed.”

Reid’s discovered that the agreement reached between the two parties as part of the weak filibuster reform deal earlier this year is not having the desired effect. And he’s threatening to revisit that deal.

...Indeed, at this point, I’d add that if Democratic leaders are not serious about revisiting reform, they should just stop with the idle threats already. They’re threatening to become counterproductive.

...That’s good to hear, but look: If Dems are not going to revisit rules reform, just make that clear already. Empty threats just risk further angering Dem base voters who are already ticked about the filibuster reform punt earlier this year. Empty threats needlessly inflate expectations that Dems are finally going to take real steps to deliver to their supporters a functional Senate, one that is at least somewhat more capable of moving forward with the agenda so many of them worked so hard for in the last campaign.

Empty threats make Dems look weak and do nothing to discourage continued GOP obstructionism. If the status quo is really acceptable enough to Democratic leaders to forestall further action, they shouldn’t bother pretending otherwise. If this is the Senate we’re going to have to live with, Dems should just level with their voters on this point. No more feints and hints without real action.