The filibuster will not exist come February, 2009. The 111th Congress starts in January, and it will set new rules that lower the threshold for overturning a filibuster to 51 or 55 seats. And then the filibuster simply goes away - it cannot be used.
Mark my words - the filibuster as we know it today is gone; it will be left as a hollow shell only so the Slavery Party (the Democrats) can claim they were “bipartisan” and left it alone with small changes. But it will be functionally eliminated.
The GOP will have zero say in anything - the House, the Senate, and of course the White House. It will be a virtual one-party town now with all possible input from the GOP turned off.
Mark my words - the filibuster as we know it today is gone; it will be left as a hollow shell only so the Slavery Party (the Democrats) can claim they were “bipartisan” and left it alone with small changes. But it will be functionally eliminated.
I'm glad someone else is realizing this. Republicans talked about the "nuclear option" in the Senate back in 2004. You can be damned sure that the democrats will USE the "nuclear option" in 2009.