By Lisa Mascaro
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – Just when the Senate was poised to change one of those arcane rules that let even a single senator paralyze the entire chamber, a single senator stood up and invoked another one of those rules to derail the whole thing.
It happened late Thursday, and the maneuver appeared to represent just the kind of episode that has helped stir public frustration and fury over Washington’s seemingly dysfunctional ways.
But beneath the surface, the incident may reflect a growing possibility that the Capitol could be in the process of changing – albeit slowly. Newer senators complain that rules originally created to protect the rights of the minority have turned into impassable obstacles to dealing with big issues they were sent to Washington to address.