Several people have asked me how I feel about the filibuster.
That will make this a short blog post because it’s an easy answer. I dislike it.
Who does like it? Those who want to obstruct and make federal government fail so government functions can be privatized.
Who doesn’t like it? Those who want to empower the federal government to create fairness and to help people. The Democrats who are opposed to ending the filibuster are from red or red-leaning states, and they answer to constituents who will need some serious persuading to understand why it has to go.
Elizabeth Warren recently did an excellent explainer on the filibuster. I can’t do better, so I’ll just put her video here:
Getting rid of the filibuster entirely won’t be easy because (surprise, surprise) the people who want to be able to obstruct legislation in general will (of course) obstruct getting rid of the filibuster.
Congress should, however, be able to at least weaken the filibuster, perhaps by going back to the days when a person who wanted to filibuster had to talk and talk and talk until the time for voting passed. To entirely get rid of the filibuster might take replacing a few more Republican Senators. Of course, without the voting rights legislation the Democrats want to pass, it will be easier for Republicans to suppress votes. But we just have to get over the hurdles until we can get a strong enough Democratic majority in Congress.
I took an easy question today because I’m still camping (mostly with Internet access, which isn’t really camping, right?)
