IRCPPS in the Links: More on US Senate Rule Suspensions

Gregory Kroger has a detailed history of the procedure in the Monkey Cage:

...By itself, last night’s precedent is not a major reform.  The “right” to vote on suspending the rules after cloture is invoked was almost never used until last year.  And since this “right” has only been used to record senators positions on defeated proposals rather than, you know, change public policy for the better, I am reasonably confident** that the republic will survive.  The minority party can still force votes on pet amendments, but now the bar to do so has been raised.  Instead of a single member filing a motion to suspend the rules and subsequently forcing a vote on the motion, now the minority party must band together and vote against cloture until they are guaranteed a vote on their priorities....