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Clear The Air

Time to Reform the Filibuster

The congressional procedure was never meant to allow minority rule.

Time to Reform the Filibuster

The filibuster was never meant to create minority rule. It's time to stop it from blocking the will of the majority.

The filibuster dates to 1789 and the tactic of senators engaging in long speeches to delay votes. (Think Jimmy Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.") Today, senators do not have to take to the floor and literally talk for hours to stop a bill from being voted on. As things now stand, one senator can filibuster by simply objecting to the majority leader's call for "unanimous consent" to end debate, which stops the legislation in question from being voted on.

The filibuster is not part of the Constitution, which is clearly majoritarian in its design. It is a Senate procedural device (found in Senate Rule 22) which has evolved to require 60 votes to overcome it, and two thirds of the members present to repeal it, which is never going to happen. It can, however, be reformed.