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The problem is not the filibuster, it is the hyper-partisanship that began after Al Gore contested the 2000 election and lost. Since then, Democrats have worked to stop anything and everything that Bush (and Republicans) did, in the name of Bush being an illegal president. They have sought to deny Bush any credit for anything that he did.

Eight years of BDS have created a Democrat base that will not allow any compromise with Republicans. Their pent-up anger is driving them to enact in a few short years all the legislation they feel they were kept from when they failed to have a "third Clinton term" in 2000.

As far as misusing the power of Congress and surreptitiously amending the Constitution, I don't think so. The Constitution clearly allows each chamber to set their own rules. The House chose the create a cloture rule instead of a cloture vote because of the larger number of members. The cloture rule shuts off debate after a designated period of time rather than by vote (as is done in the Senate).

Cloture would not be an insurmountable obstacle in the Senate if the hyper-partisans weren't so driven to pass extreme legislation that was not crafted with bipartisan participation.

The problem with achieving bipartisan support is that the Senate has degenerated into 100 squabbling personalities in a 59-41 power ratio that is at odds with the 51-49 (mabe 53-47) ratio as demonstrated by national voting patterns. When 47-49% of the nation feels that a hyper-partisan Senate majority is ignoring their opinions, the minority has no choice but to stop the tyranny of the majority that has been apparent in the Senate.

-PJ