... except on a measure or motion to amend the Senate rules, in which case the necessary affirmative vote shall be two-thirds of the Senators present and voting ...
I'd like to see him pull the trigger on the cloture rule, which has been abused mightily for about a decade.
Reid's plan differs from the GOP plan of about eight years ago, in two respects. The GOP plan was to limit modification to the cloture process to those instances where the issue was a judicial nominee; and the GOP mechanism was to get a ruling from the chair on that narrow (judicial nominee) point, allowing a simple majority to overcome the minority veto commonly referred to as "filibuster" (using the rules to delay decision).
Reid may be planning to get a ruling from the chair that allows simple majority rewrite of the rules at every start of a Congress, each two years. Who knows, the fellow is a few bricks shy of a full load, and lies like a rug.
Any change of the rules by majority will set the precedent.
Reid has 30 or 40 members who really want this, newer members and members who came up through the House, or are deeply indebted to special interest groups- or to Obama’s machine.
He’s got about a dozen who don’t want to lose the power the present system gives individuals or don’t want to tarnish their ‘moderate’ ‘bipartisan’ patina.
I don’t think he can do it, or can afford to. Though it would give him more power personally.