Senior GOP Senator nixes Walker filibuster FUBAR

You may remember that Gov. Walker took time out the other day from his sandwich-making to make a little news 
when his pals Reince Priebus and Paul Ryan were legitimately in the spotlight by suggesting GOP Senators nuke the filibuster rule to guarantee that red Senators, Donald Trump and House Freedom [Sic] Caucus crazies even better odds to enact whatever alt-right, special-interest or doomsday fantasies crossed their minds on any given day.

Among my observations about Walker's foray out of his comfort zone:

Senate Republicans used the filibuster to their advantage when blocking so many of President Barack Obama's initiatives. But taking a long view, GOP Senators have avoided past proposals to end the rule for their momentary or short-term gain because they know they will need it in their back pocket when Democrats eventually retake the Senate.

Which is pretty much what the long-term Utah GOP Senator Orrin Hatch said about it in a published report today: 

Are you kidding?” he said with some vehemence. “I’m one of the biggest advocates for the filibuster. It’s the only way to protect the minority, and we’ve been in the minority a lot more than we’ve been in the majority. It’s just a great, great protection for the minority.” 

Hatch, the most senior member of the GOP, presides over the Senate every morning as the president pro tempore, making him third in the line of succession to the White House. He’s also chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Not the final word on this, but Hatch's remarks suggest a mature and pragmatic barrier to the kind of total ends-justify-the-means attitude that propels Walker and his power-grabbing allies back home.