60th vote no guarantee Dems can block filibusters: Harkin

Finally achieving a filibuster-proof 60 votes doesn't mean Senate Democrats will march in lockstep behind their leaders, Sen. Tom Harkin said Thursday.

Democrats, he said, tend to go their own way and are less likely to follow their leaders in a direction that doesn't serve their home state constituencies, Harkin said. The seating of Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken this week could provide the 60

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vote Democrats need to block filibusters by minority Republicans. But that's not a given, Harkin warned.

"I think Democrats being Democrats, like Will Rogers once said, 'I'm a member of no organized political party -- I'm a Democrat.' I think that holds true today," he said.

The Senate's 58 Democrats have to rely on votes from independents Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont as well as Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to get to 60 votes.

Even then, Democrats have recently been two votes short of cloture because of the health-related absences of Sens. Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd.

So blocking Republican attempts to filibuster health care reform or climate change legislation may be difficult, Harkin said, because Democrats "tend to be more independent than Republicans ... in the way we approach things."

Referring to the elephant and donkey symbols for the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, Harkin said they are appropriate. At the circus, he explained. Elephants wrap their trunks around the tail of the elephant in front of them "and where ever the lead elephant goes they follow."

On the other hand, "you've got to hit a donkey in the head with a 2x4 just to get their attention sometimes," Harkin said. "To try to get them to march in the same direction is almost impossible."

That makes the prospect of reconciliation a "distinct possibility," Harkin said. Reconciliation is a process intended to allow a contentious budget bill to be considered without being subject to filibuster. Debate can be limited to 20 hours and amendments are limited, too.

Attempting to force senators to follow their caucus leaders can be difficult because "the people who elect you don't serve in the Senate," Harkin said. "They're back in your home states."

In the end, forging a winning majority can be "a very delicate balance in trying to meet the needs of different constituencies," he said.

"The democratic form of government is frustrating and sometimes it's slow to grind, but it's still a pretty darned good system," Harkin said.