Filibuster

 The United States Senate has become completely dysfunctional. In my opinion it can be narrowed down to the power hungry conduct of one individual. Mitch McConnell as majority leader held absolute control over what business was allowed to come to the Senate floor. If he did not want it considered, debated, voted on, it just didn’t happen. He is no longer majority leader so he lost that power. Now he waves the filibuster as a mighty sword to delay or destroy the legislative agenda of the majority. He claims it is to preserve the rights of the minority party and force compromise. That argument is total bullshit. The recently passed COVID recovery legislation was supported by over 50% of Republican voters and almost 70% of all voters. Republican votes in the Senate for the legislation- exactly zero. If the bill had not gone through budget reconciliation it would not have been approved. Republicans howling over the process used is laughable. It is the same process they used to pass the Trump tax cuts that threw massive amounts of tax breaks to the rich and large corporations. So the question becomes, what do we do with the filibuster? 

The filibuster originally required a senator to stand and talk and talk and talk. When the senator ran out of energy and gave up the floor the filibuster was effectively over. What changed? It seems that Senators got lazy. Now all they are required to do is state their intent to filibuster and 60 votes are required to proceed. It would seem to me that a legislative body so proud of its history should return to its roots. If you want to filibuster take to the floor and start talking. Not just talking but talking about the bill you are filibustering. No reading passages from books like Green Eggs and Ham. No carrying on about anything unrelated to the bill. No bathroom breaks. No meal breaks. Put on your diaper and stand up and talk. No sitting down. So, keep the filibuster if you want. It should be used sparingly and it should be painful.