Will Mitch McConnell Break Out the Filibuster?

Although this may come as a surprise, there are still some Republican members of the U.S. Senate left after November's election. There are at least 41 of of them, in fact (we won't know the final number until that pesky Minnesota race is resolved, possibly by Simon Cowell).

41 is a magic number in the Senate - it's the exact number of votes needed to continue a filibuster, that hallowed parliamentary procedure used to block everything from civil rights legislation to laws creating reservoirs on the site of Boy Scout campgrounds. Oh wait, that was in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

Anyway, the Washington Post reports that the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, is already threatening to use the filibuster to prevent Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus plan:

McConnell -- the most powerful Republican in Washington, based on the filibuster-proof level of 41 GOP Senate seats -- called for many congressional hearings on the stimulus plan and some undetermined safeguards to assure the money is being spent wisely.

Details are still emerging as key negotiators retreated for the holidays and they aren't likely to reconvene face-to-face meetings until later this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) have set a goal of passing the massive economic jolt as close as possible to Obama's swearing-in; House Democrats have considered passing the bill without it going through the committee process.

McConnell has the ability to dramatically slow the process or even block it, should all 41 Republicans come together in a filibuster.

McConnell should be very glad that his predecessor, Bill Frist, didn't get to implement his "nuclear option" of eliminating the filibuster in order to push President Bush's judicial nominees through the Senate. See, that was back in 2005 when Republicans controlled the Senate and couldn't care less about the rights of the minority party.

Furthermore, McConnell needs to be very careful, because just one defection from a moderate GOP Senator will crack his magic 41 votes. He should get ready to sign off on some lobster-fishing subsidies for Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine and some extra funding for the rubber industry to appease Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio!

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, however, can be bought off with a nice box of candy.