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Roe v. Wade and the Filibuster
Filibuster reform! Slowly, I turned…
Yes, the filibuster is my pet project. I have written in favor of the idea generally and against the current iteration specifically. The TL;DR of those articles is that the device properly protects the lambs from being outvoted by the wolves regarding the dinner menu, but, as currently implemented, it makes obstruction too easy, with potentially fatal consequences.
The turning point in the history of the filibuster was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Dixiecrats sought to filibuster the bill, and the unpleasantness surrounding their effort led to filibuster “reform” intended (some say, but based on consequences, I’m not convinced) to make the filibuster less of an obstacle to legislation. Whatever the ostensible reasons for the changes, they actually made the filibuster easier to use, and there has been hell to pay ever since.
The “virtual” filibuster is why our our politics is so nasty.
I believe that the current version of the filibuster accounts entirely for the current bitterness of our politics. We have always been tribal, but, when the filibuster was difficult to use, obstruction was politically expensive, and our pols usually chose compromise with their “friends” on the other side. Such comity…