To be honest I think the Dems will kill the filibuster the next time they have a trifecta with 55+ senate seats (and that might happen in 2020/2024). I think the GOP would have killed it if they had more senate seats and a competent and/or popular Republican president.
Actually I think in that scenario the GOP would still be hesitant to abolish the filibuster. The filibuster ultimately is to the benefit of the party of small government and a gop that had a larger senate majority and/or a more popular president, would definitely fancy their chances of having a stronger long term advantage in the senate.
