The plain fact is that prior to this congress, a Senate filibuster was rare enough to be newsworthy. With the current congress it is the rare bill that does not face filibuster that is newsworthy.
The uptick in the use of the filibuster is at least partly due to the psychology of the situation in which Senate Republicans found themselves in this congress.
With the results of the 2008 elections, they found themselves in such a minority that they could not even sustain a filibuster. If Senate Democrats united, the Republicans would be powerless to stop any measure.
They got a reprieve: A close result in Minnesota allowed them to milk the recount process and delay the seating of Senator Frankin for ~8 months, denying the Democrats a 60th filibuster breaking vote.
With not a single vote to spare, a siege mentality prevailed. Sen. Mitch McConnel enforced party discipline with an iron hand. It was a case of “We must all hang together, or together we all shall hang.” We saw Republican Senators denying cloture when they had sponsored virtually identical legislation in the past.
And it was not just a case of Republican leadership making demands. With every single Republican vote required, Republican senators were able to wield serious power by trading the favor of cloture nay votes with their republican colleagues. Republican Senators were quick to realize that with their vote required to block anything, they now held the power to block pretty much anything themselves. While it may have been hard to vote against some things they were really for, at least they could demand a lot in return.
When Al Frankin was finally seated, The Democrats once again had the votes to break a republican fillibuster… or not. Several right leaning Democrats (AKA Blue Dogs) seized the opportunity to expand their influence. The Republicans now had to win over at least one Democrat to deny cloture, but the blue dogs were lined up and willing. If one couldn’t be appeased, there was another waiting to take his (her) place.
Eventually, Sen. Scott Brown was elected/seated, giving the Republicans their much desired 41st cloture vote. A great day for the Republicans, but a sad day for the Democrats, especially the Blue Dogs, who had burned many bridges with fellow Democrats, and found themselves old, fat, and no longer needed nor loved by Republicans.
As much as I would like to believe that the Democrats would behave better, I don’t have any evidence of what they would do when faced with only the exact number needed to sustain a filibuster.
I have some thin hope that with Republicans holding a stronger minority in the next Senate, they may be able to behave better. No longer will each and every Republican Senator have the power to stop a filibuster with their lone vote.