On Thursday night’s Countdown,host Keith Olbermann once again displayed his Trekkie chops, as he used a Star Trek episode to illustrate the idiocy of the current filibuster rule. He compared the painless way Senators can simulate endless debate (without actually having to debate) with the bloodless war from A Taste of Armageddon, and spoke with filibuster-buster Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) about his plan to reform the rules.

After a tumultuous lame duck session, Congress is getting ready to get back in gear, and the Senate in particular appears ready to tackle some practical business: the use of the filibuster, which Democrats appear poised to reform. Given that, for one day, a simple majority at the beginning of a session may change floor rules, the death of the filibuster appears, if not imminent, at least possible.

On Fox News Sunday today, Senator Dick Durbin discussed the recent increase in filibustering in the Senate, and the possibility of changing filibuster rules in the new Congress next month. “It’s a clear abuse of what was supposed to be a rarely used procedural option,” Durbin responded. “We need to put an end to secret holes in the United States Senate. It’s archaic, it’s wrong, we need more transparency.”

When asked at this morning’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs refused to rule out the “nuclear option” should a filibuster of the health care bill occur in the Senate. While emphasizing that he did not want to come to any conclusions before he knew the results of Thursday’s scheduled bipartisan health care summit, he pointed out that the nuclear option has a history of success for allowing votes on controversial bills.

It’s no great secret that Senator Joe Lieberman has enraged many liberals with his vocal, well-publicized threats to derail the health care bill under consideration.
Dana Milbank’s theory: Lieberman is just an old-school moderate, which is something today’s hyperpolarized Senate can’t handle.

CNN makes some news! CNN’s Dana Bash interviewed Senator Joe Lieberman last night for AC360 and when the topic of his political party affiliation came up, the former Democrat and current independent did not rule out a future campaign as a Republican. Lieberman told Bash that a move to the GOP remained a possible, though unlikely, option. “I don’t know what I’ll run as,” he said. “I like being an independent. So that’s definitely a possibility. But I’d say all options are open.”

Health Care reform is a story that often elicits blank stares and yawns from an audience. It not only lacks a clear and simple narrative, its hard to follow the characters involved. Recent debate over health care reform has forced the topic back on the cable news rundowns, and at least one cable network has found their villain. His name? Joe Lieberman (sturm and drang)! Turns out, he plays the part pretty well