The Senate Filibuster

A detailed Summary of The Senate Filibuster


Use of the filibuster has been commonplace in the United States Senate since its beginning. However, this long-standing tradition has turned democracy on its head and caused the collapse of majority rule in the Senate. Simply put, a filibuster is an extremely long off-topic speech that is given, normally by the minority, in hopes of staling and blocking a Senate vote on a particular issue. It delays debates and inhibits the passing of legislation. Filibustering prevents the Senate from doing their job of representing the people of the United States. Many organizations, like the "Action, Not Gridlock Campaign" which was launched by present and past members of the Senate, have been set up to protest and eliminate filibustering in the Senate. Members such as Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman scream that filibustering is a "procedural straightjacket placed on the will of the American people (Binder 108). Because filibustering gravely threatens our government's ability to act to meet the nation's pressing challenges, it should be banned in the Senate much like it is in the House of Representatives.

The Founding Fathers of the US Constitution created the simple format


Richardson, Elliot L. The Case Against the Senate Filibuster. www.igc.org/cvd/reports/`995/chp6/richardson.html

Wolpe, Bruce C. Lobby Congress: How the System Works. Congressional Quarterly, 1990. Washington DC.

Filibustering has nothing to do with politics. Reading a phonebook or reciting Shakespeare to delay the Senate from taking action is a crime against democracy and the will of the public. Filibustering prevents the Senate from doing its job and taking the necessary actions against legislation. "Just as we forswear using chemical weapons in war, Senators should forswear using filibusters in legislative combat. Such scorched-earth tactics may win a battle but leave the democratic process in ruins (Binder 212). Filibustering is a major flaw in the democratic process that must be solved by banning it in the Senate.

The Senate has the very specific job of representing the people of the United States. This country is a democracy, where elected officials such as a Senator, have the task of passing legislation in order to provide the American public with the essentials of life. However, filibustering stops the Senate from doing its job and threatens the very foundation of Democracy. "Using the fiction of "extended debate" as a means of blocking action on urgent problems is a corruption of the democrati

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Category: Politics

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