So faced with a filibuster against any near-term action on gun legislation that has now been joined by Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid appears to be calling some GOP bluff, and has filed for cloture aimed at a Thursday vote on a motion to proceed to consideration of a bill.
It’s unclear at this point whether Reid is trying to force the Manchin-Toomey “gang” to get a move on in their negotiations on a compromise version of background check legislation, or instead bypass them, or at least get to the stage of the legislative process where such a deal could serve as a backup rather than the Last Hope For Gun Legislation. But unless the gang unveils something real fast, Mitch McConnell now has to decide whether to try to make the filibuster a party discipline issue (without which it will probably fail), which could be perilous any way you slice it.
Ah, the United States Senate: supposedly “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” but all too often a house of mirrors.
