Okay, let's see if I can make this quick and dirty. Although not explicitly mandated, the Constitution and its framers clearly envisioned that simple majority voting would be used to conduct normal business. The Constitution spelled out what would take a super majority such as impeachment. expelling a members, overriding presidential vetoes, proposing constitutional amendments etc.

In 1806, the filibuster became possible through an accident.by removing the rule that allowed to end debate by a simple majority since it had been used only once since 1789. After the removal of that senate rule, there was mechanism to end debate on any issue. The filibuster became a possibility which was first used in 1837.

It wasn't until 1917 that the senate passed the cloture rule as a means to end debate that up until that time was impossible. It took 2/3rds of the senate to invoke cloture and end debate on any proposed legislation.

1970 saw the 2/3rds rule lowed to 3/5ths.

It has been a long standing policy that once the rules of the senate are agreed on by both parties prior to the beginning of a session, they can't be changed during the session or until the beginning of the next session. Reid violated this with his rule change involving the nuclear option during the middle of the session.

Thus setting a precedence that the majority party can change the rules of the senate any time they darn well please. That you referred to. But until Reid, changing rules in mid session had never been done. At least not that I can find or ever heard of.

The cloture rule was a way to end debate on any issue or legislation. Without the cloture rule, debate could continue until Hades froze over or into the next century or two. What is being proposed by the Democrats is an adjustment to the cloture rule, the only way to end debate from it present 3/5ths down to a simple majority.

Without Reid, ending the filibuster, bringing debate to an end by simple majority would have to be agreed on by both parties at the beginning of the session. But Reid broke that with his nuclear option or changing the rules after they'd been agreed to by one and all senators. So there is a precedence now for breaking or changing the rules everyone agreed to in mid session which it seems that is exactly what the Democrats want to do now.

So why have any rules if the majority party can change them anytime they want or like?

Last edited by perotista; 06/14/21 02:29 AM.
It's high past time that we start electing Americans to congress and the presidency who put America first instead of their political party. For way too long we have been electing Republicans and Democrats who happen to be Americans instead of Americans who happen to be Republicans and Democrats.