This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, June 19, 2010 - U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is telling the political world this weekend that she has the necessary 67 votes to get rid of one of the most controversial practices in the U.S. Senate -- the "secret hold" that allows a single senator to block a vote on presidential nominees.
And the colleague agreeing to provide one of the two last key votes is Missouri's top Republican, U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo.
News outlets in Washington and elsewhere are abuzz after McCaskill tweeted Saturday morning that Bond and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., had agreed to be the 66th and 67th supporters of her letter "calling for the end to secret holds."
(Technically, they are the 65th and 66th signers, since the letter is to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., who announced his support early on -- but is not signing the letter since it is written to him.)
In any case, McCaskill also tweeted Saturday: "Now I'm hoping I can testify in front of Rules Committee next week and convince them to move on rule change. Then on to the floor for a vote."
According to her tally, she has the support of nine Republicans and all but one Democrat. The holdout is Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va.
McCaskill's drive started, in part, because many Democrats are upset that more than 100 of President Barack Obama's nominees for various posts had been held up at one point because of a secret hold by at least one senator.
His Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, suffered -- although to a lesser degree -- a similar road block for many of his choices.
In any case, Bond is among the veteran Republicans who agree with the Democrats that it's time to change the rules and force senators to go public if they are blocking a vote on a nominee.
McCaskill's staff says she is slated to testify Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
