WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, in a video message to Mainers, U.S. Senator Angus S. King, Jr. (I-Maine) recapped the historic events of last night, when the U.S. Senate voted in a bipartisan manner to modify the filibuster rules to ease the legislative gridlock that has plagued the institution in recent years.

Senator King specifically spoke to the historic significance of the rule change, noting, “I think a lot of the commentators that have talked about the compromise that was reached and voted through yesterday to change the Senate rules missed the point or didn’t really understand entirely what happened because it was very significant.  It wasn’t as much of a change in the filibuster rules as I would have liked, as I supported – but there are two things important about what happened: number one, it was a significant change in the way the filibuster works – the first one in 38 years; and second, the way we got to that place was important.”

“I think it’s almost as important how we got here as what we actually achieved,” Senator King later continued. “And I can tell you from being on the floor of the United States Senate on Thursday night, there was a palpable sense of optimism that perhaps, maybe, hopefully, we were at a period where there was going to be more compromise, more open discussion, more amendments, more actual consideration of bills, and more good legislation on behalf of the American people. And the mood of anger and revenge, and raw partisanship, at least last night, had significantly dissipated. So that is a real plus.”

“Now, will it work? Will it diminish the number of filibusters? Will the air of nonpartisanship and compromise continue into the work of the Senate – and we have got some very tough issues coming this spring – I don’t know. I don’t think there are any guarantees. But I think it was a positive step forward, and I think it was a good step for the country.”

The full video can be viewed here.