Indeed, shenanigans like this are evidence of dystopia.

I have come to the conclusion that the seminal event in modern political history was the change in filibuster rule that relieved the filibustering party of actually showing up. EVERYTHING wrong with our politics can be traced to that change. Most notably, obstruction became a viable strategy. The Republicans could throw sand in the gears of a legislature nominally "controlled" by the Dems and then accuse the Dems of not getting anything done. (Talk about chutzpah.)

There are graphs of how the filibuster took off as a tool after the rule change. Now, it's simply assumed that it takes sixty Senate votes do pass a law. That is not a minor thing. That is why obstruction works, and it is why Congress's approval rating never topped 20% in Obama's second term.

The other reason obstruction works is that the other side is made up of really awful people: communists and pedophiles and the like. Demonization goes hand in hand with obstruction. If compromise were a good idea, our opponents wouldn't be our enemies. But because compromise doesn't work as well as obstruction, hatred of those with whom we will not deal is a necessary tool. If the old-style filibuster is restored, comity will follow. Otherwise, I don't see how we recover.