Democrats need to reform the Senate now — before Republicans do

President Obama's legacy may very well hang in the balance

Capitol
(Image credit: (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

Several recent developments have brought into stark relief the fact that our Senate is a smoking jalopy of an institution that is badly in need of reform, even after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) moved to weaken the filibuster several months ago. And if Democrats don't get to it first, then count on Republicans beating them to the punch if they ever manage to wrest control of the government.

First, a banal bipartisan measure in favor of energy efficiency went down to a threatened Republican filibuster because the GOP insisted on stringing a bunch of EPA-crippling amendments to it. Second, when Federal Reserve Board member Jeremy Stein steps down at the end of the month, the board of the world's most important central bank will be down to just three out of seven members. There are three Fed nominations waiting for Senate confirmation, but it could take weeks or months to get to them.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.