filibuster

The Filibuster Protects the Powerful, Not Vulnerable Minorities

by Ben Railton

The regular use of the filibuster in the 20th century paralleled its use as a tool to frustrate the political goals of labor and civil rights activists.

Of Course the Federal Government Can Regulate Elections

by Heather Cox Richardson

The Constitution not only enables, but requires the federal government to act when state authority violates the principles of democracy, something President Harry Truman realized in 1946.

The White Moderates King Warned About

by Victor Ray

"By blocking voting reform today, Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are the White moderates Dr. King warned us about."

Manchin and Sinema are Fulfilling John Roberts's Vision

by Ronald Brownstein

"Roberts, who served as a young clerk to conservative Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist and as a Justice Department assistant in the Reagan administration, has long expressed hostility to federal oversight of voting and election rules."

Julian Zelizer Joins "Here and Now" to Discuss Biden Voting Rights Push

How will Biden deliver a planned speech on voting rights under the shadow of the filibuster? Will it sway reluctant Democrats like Manchin and Sinema? 

Ornstein: Five Filibuster Myths

"Supporters of the status quo have their reasons, many of them caught up in myths about the history of the Constitution and the Senate’s role."

Biden to Endorse Changing Filibuster Rules for Voting Rights Legislation

The President is expected to endorse limited changes to the filibuster rules to enable a straight majority vote on voting rights legislation, while perserving the filibuster for other legislation. 

"A Minority of Misguided Senators": MLK on the Filibuster

“I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting. They won’t let the majority senators vote."

The Dangers of Compromise on Voting Rights

by Rachel Shelden

Are moderate Democrats seeking bipartisan support for voting rights legislation repeating the errors of the antebellum legislators who misunderstood the South's commitment to securing slavery at any cost including secession? 

West Virginia's Founding Politicians Understood Democracy Better than Today's

by Daniel W. Sunshine

The filibuster, as currently constructed, violates what West Virginia founder Waitman Willey described as “the great fundamental political right of the majority to rule.” West Virginia’s quest to improve their democracy offers lessons on how to heal our own.

How Did the Senate Get Supermajority Gridlock?

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

The framers clearly intended for majority rule in the passage of legislation in the Senate. So how did we get to the point where a majority can't do anything? 

No, John Calhoun Didn't Invent the Filibuster

by Robert Elder

A new book castigating the filibuster traces it back to the parliamentary maneuvers of pro-slavery ideologue John C. Calhoun. One needn't embrace either Calhoun or the filibuster to recognize this is historically incorrect. 

The Filibuster is an Anti-Worker Rule, Too

by Emily DiVito and Suzanne Kahn

Since 1948, the filibuster has blocked three major labor reform bills affecting "right to work" laws, streamlining the union recognition process, and protecting workers from retaliation during labor disputes. Eliminating it is critical for economic justice. 

Bouie: Manchin and Sinema Have Their History Wrong

Bipartisan support for 1960s civil rights legislation was an artifact of a fleeting moment of ideological diversity within the two parties. When it comes to voting and civil rights laws, partisan polarization has been the historical norm, and it's nothing to fear now when ballot access is at risk across the nation.

Ron Brownstein: What Manchin and Sinema Can Learn from Lincoln Republicans on Voting Rights

It's increasingly clear that the choice isn't between partisan and bipartisan legislation to protect voting rights, but between partisan legislation and none. But the 14th and 15th Amendments were themselves partisan. 

Rand Paul Offers an Accidentally Useful Jim Crow Analogy in Rationalizing His Party’s Illiberal Shift

Rand Paul's comments that Jim Crow laws were a product of democracy reveals the degree to which he and the Republican Party seek to justify their antidemocratic approach to election law. 

Save Democracy: Abolish the Senate

by Michael Tomasky

Great Britain made the wise choice of diminishing the political power of the House of Lords. The New Republic's editor says that the history of Parliament and Congress shows it's time to do the same to the Senate. 

The Senate’s Unchanging Rules

by Donald A. Ritchie

Continued obstructionism is likely to push the Democrats to more radical alteration of Senate rules, including the filibuster, says the long-tenured Senate Historian.

Academics Address the Filibuster

Seth Cotlar notes that history doesn't directly inform present action, but since advocates for retaining the filibuster had used many bad historical claims in their arguments it is only fair for historians to weigh in on the debate. 

Scholars For Reform Sends Open Letter to U.S. Senate Urging Filibuster Reform

Historians are among the scholars urging the Senate to reform the filibuster, arguing that a supermajority requirement to pass legislation is unsupported by the historical evidence of the framers' intentions and today distributes power in an undemocratic way.