Government,
Constitutional Law
Jan. 7, 2022
Of filibusters and festive bachelors: The dark purpose of the Senate’s minority rule
The U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule looms large, threatening to stymie both the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion Build Back Better Act, despite the Democratic Senate majority and strong popular support among Democratic voters for both measures. Popular mythology aside, the filibuster’s crucial and insidious function is that it enables senators to feign serving their constituent voters while in fact serving their special interest donors. It operates like the orchestration of a particularly debauched bachelor party.
The U.S. Senate's filibuster rule looms large, threatening to stymie both the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and President Joe Biden's $2 trillion Build Back Better Act, despite the Democratic Senate majority and strong popular support among Democratic voters for both measures. Popular mythology aside, the filibuster's crucial and insidious function is that it enables senators to feign serving their constituent voters while in fact serving their special interest donors....
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