Filibuster in the United States Senate

Introduction

• Common imagery of the Senate: flags, suits, stonework.
• Uncommon imagery: senators peeing in buckets, reading phone books.
• Filibuster: a rarely used but increasingly common tool.

Definition and Mechanism

• Filibuster: A Senate procedure used to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill.
  • Senators can talk indefinitely when they have the floor.
  • Requires continuous presence; cannot pause for breaks.
• Occurs only in the Senate, not in the House of Representatives.
• Origin: Dutch term for pirate, indicating holding something captive.

Execution and Historical Examples

• Filibustering content can be anything: Shakespeare, phone books, cookbooks.
• Record Holder: Strom Thurmond filibustered the Civil Rights Act for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
  • Used a bucket to manage personal needs without leaving the Senate floor.

Purpose and Effects

• Intended to promote deliberation and cross-party compromise.
• Perspectives:
  • Minority: Views filibuster as a tool for negotiation.
  • Majority: Sees it as an obstacle.
• Normal bill passage requires ending debate; filibuster introduces the need for a cloture motion (60 votes).
• Encourages bipartisan support and gives minority a platform.

Historical Changes and Current Trends

• Originally, one filibuster per Congress in the 1950s.
• Increase in filibuster usage since the 1960s.
• Currently used to effectively block measures disliked by the minority.

Filibuster Reform and the "Nuclear Option"

• Not part of the Constitution; a Senate tradition that can be changed.
• Nuclear Option: Refers to eliminating the filibuster.
• 2013: Democrats removed filibuster for lower-level nominations.
• GOP later eliminated it for Supreme Court nominations.
• Currently, can still be used for legislation.

Consequences of Removing the Filibuster

• Concerns about Senate resembling the House without compromise.
• Traditionalists worry about majority steamrolling minority.

Future Implications

• Filibuster's erosion reflects increasing polarization in Washington.
• Future political conflicts may force further changes to Senate rules.
• Changing the filibuster rule could lead to significant shifts in Senate operations.