Senator Tom Udall (D. NM) has a nice way of telling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D. NV) "I told you so" in regards to filibuster reform:
http://www.nmtelegram.com/...
Nearly all Republican Senators voted to delay the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense on Thursday.
The office of Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., worked to reform the filibuster before the start of this Congress. While his effort to reform the filibuster was not adopted, Udall said that the modest reform efforts that the Senate took were a step forward.
NM Telegram reached out to Udall’s office for a reaction to the news of the Hagel filibuster.
“The first filibuster of a Secretary of Defense in history shows the Senate very well may need further rules reform,” Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla said in a statement to NM Telegram. “The proposal by Senators Udall and Merkley would not have prevented this filibuster – they never intended to take away that right to debate. But under their proposal, filibustering a cabinet nominee would have required a sustained effort. If they failed to do so, a majority of the Senate would be able to move forward.” - New Mexico Telegraph, 2/14/13
Of course Reid was "shocked" that Republicans would actually filibuster a Secretary of Defense nominee:
http://www.thenation.com/...
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday was shocked to learn that there was filibustering going on in the Senate.
“It is shocking that our Republicans colleagues would leave our nation without a secretary of defense with all the things going on and when we’re in a war,” Reid said after Senate Republicans voted against confirming former Republican Chuck Hagel as the new head of the Pentagon.
It was “shocking”—if we use the definition of the word as “troubling” or “unsettling”—that fifty-eight senators (the members of the Democratic caucus and four Republicans: Senators Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Johanns of Nebraska and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska) out of 100 wanted a vote but could not get it.
But it was not “shocking”—if we use the definition of the word as “surprising” or “unexpected”—that a Republican minority was again obstructing action in the Senate.
Seriously! What did Harry Reid think was going to happen when he rejected the calls of Senators Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, for filibuster reform? - The Nation, 2/15/13
Udall also sounds optimistic that the Hagel filibuster might motivate Reid to rethink filibuster reform:
http://www.rollcall.com/...
Supporters of more robust changes to the Senate’s rules than were adopted in January — meant to reduce the number of filibusters — said the Hagel situation could push Reid to do more to address the procedure.
“I think the important thing is that the leader is getting concerned,” said Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., a leader of the effort to make bigger changes to the rules regarding the filibuster. He added that he interpreted Reid’s comments as signaling that “if this is going to continue, he’s going to look at other ways to make the institution more productive and less bogged down.” - Roll Call, 2/14/13
I sure hope Udall is right. The Daily Kos is pushing for Reid to re-open filibuster reform. You can sign their petition here:
http://campaigns.dailykos.com/...
And you can thank Udall for continuing to urge real filibuster reform by donating to his re-election campaign:
https://secure.actblue.com/...