Remember how the Republican Senate was threatening the "nuclear option" to ban filibusters when they were the majority in the house? That threat has gone away now that it is a Democratic Senate, and the Republicans happily use, or threaten to use, it frequently. I think there might be some more civility and respect for the rules now in the Senate, but at the same time, when all three are in the hands of one party, things can go awry as power goes to ones' head (as we saw with Bush). Checks and balances are good. But like I said, a few more people need a good primer on how their form of government works and why "signing statements" and "warrantless wiretaps" are problematic in a Democracy.

SRS