“We’re hopeful Mother’s Day has a good effect on everybody,” says Sen. Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, president of the Maine Senate. She refers to the $130 million, or so, divide between her party and Republicans over the state budget, talks on which are grinding to a halt.

We share her hope, but not her optimism. The laudable agreement by the Legislature to approve this budget by a two-thirds supermajority, intending to foster consensus and bipartisanship, has bogged down the process.

Or, as House Speaker Glenn Cummings says, “We’re in two-thirds land.”

Dollar-for-dollar, increased tobacco taxes – and the $131 million Gov. John Baldacci has targeted from them – separate the parties. Rep. Josh Tardy, R-Newport, the House Minority Leader, states the GOP won’t support a budget with tax hikes, as doing so, would “represent complete institutional failure.”

In its budget proposal, Democrats are advocating for a 75-cent tobacco tax hike, a quarter less than the governor’s proposal. Republicans have dropped it; Tardy said the plan is a tax increase masquerading as a wellness initiative. We agree.

Democrats, in response, inquire from Republicans if not from tobacco money, then where? Two proposed revenue sources – increasing the state’s take from moneymaker Hollywood Slots, or cutting state employee health benefits – have been the subject of State House rallies this week.

“In the context of getting to two-thirds,” says Tardy, “There are going to be some contentious times.”

He isn’t kidding.

Gaming interests put the State House under siege on Wednesday, making enough car horn noise to force committees to shutter windows during a sweltering spring day. Even if unheard, demonstrators sent their message by making it hot-under-the-collar inside the capital.

Mercury should rise again this coming week, during Appropriations Committee hearings. Unless the parties find common ground, budget talks appear headed for a photo-finish at the end of the legislative session.

There are many reasons why. The mandate for 55 percent education funding plays a part, and the lack of meaningful tax reform in past years and partisan intransigence are also supporting actors. The lead role, however, is held by the two-thirds requirement, which deserves a harsh spotlight.

It had the finest intention: forcing lawmakers into cross-aisle compromise. Yet its propensity for creating minority rule is dangerous; two-thirds approvals on spending, we recall, were attacked as major flaws in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights legislation, and helped lead to its defeat.

While supermajorities are appropriate for landmark votes, such as constitutional amendments, this benchmark has questionable value for more complex and fluid issues, such as budgeting.

Especially since the parties are not far apart.

Some $130 million in a $6 billion budget is meager, but bridging the gap will take remarkable concessions, as both sides are entrenched. Democrats fear making up the difference in pure cuts, which they say would come straight from K-12 and higher education budgets. Republicans won’t budge against new, or raising, taxes.

Delaying the 55 percent state funding for education, however, is a potential savings vehicle that should be put on blocks. Some lawmakers believe this mandate is burdening the budget, as it lacks a dedicated funding source.

Stalling the 55 percent funding would be betraying the sentiments of the citizens of Maine.

Perhaps today, Mother’s Day, is the needed respite for both sides, as Sen. Edmonds remarks.

More likely, however, it’s a quick breather, as the two-thirds mandate for budget approval proves more obstruction than incentive to cooperate.

The laudable agreement by the Legislature to approve this budget by a two-thirds supermajority, intending to foster consensus and bipartisanship, has bogged down the process.