FUCK THE POLICE
911 EVERY DAY
The existence of the filibuster in the senate is a mistake; the congress in the early 1800's accidentally took out the rule to end debate and never bothered to put it back in. Today the filibuster is used against pretty much any legislation the opposition doesn't like, in effect raising the senate to needing a super majority requirement. I know conservatives are in love with their super-majorities for common statutory legislation (SR required unanimity, the Libertarians need like 7/8s of the vote to put something into their platform), but a supermajority requirement has never improved the quality of legislation. The only thing it ensures is that what comes out of the legislature will be a blob of "consensus" that pleases no one. If something is unconstitutional, then the courts should strike it down, otherwise the government should be strong in its correct roles and not bogged down by obstructionists.
The way the filibuster is used today, there is no need to actually stand up and speak to block legislation. All you have to do to make a filibuster is say you are going to. This is one reason there were more filibusters this year than in the entire nineteenth century.
I say either bring back the requirement that there actually be debate for a filibuster to matter, or abolish it altogether. It's a privilege that is abused by the minority now for no other reason than obstructionism, usually on trivial grounds that none of the people in the nineteenth century would've dared filibuster on.
The way the filibuster is used today, there is no need to actually stand up and speak to block legislation. All you have to do to make a filibuster is say you are going to. This is one reason there were more filibusters this year than in the entire nineteenth century.
I say either bring back the requirement that there actually be debate for a filibuster to matter, or abolish it altogether. It's a privilege that is abused by the minority now for no other reason than obstructionism, usually on trivial grounds that none of the people in the nineteenth century would've dared filibuster on.
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