If Democrats are able to hold their slim majority in the US Senate, keep the White House, and gain enough seats in the House in November, the prospect of some much needed reform finally becomes real.
I have mixed feelings about ending the filibuster. Yes it was once used to protect the minority and yes it was a gimme to slave-holding states but it has become a weapon of the minority to enforce minority rule. The republicons have put us in this position by weaponizing the rules of the government they serve to carry out their agenda whether they have the majority or not. From blocking judicial appointments to blocking military promotions and ambassadorships to filibustering merely to kill legislation, the minority party has been adept at using the legitimate tools of government to effectively render government useless. It would be one thing if they did this to bring attention and compromise but it seems they do it as a political stunt so they can sit back and collect a paycheck bemoaning how government is broke while being the very assholes that broke it. Maybe we go back to the old rules of filibuster and none of this just saying you will filibuster counts as filibuster. Maybe if they had to actually stand there in the Capitol and talk nonstop for hours and hours like the old days they would think twice and come to the bargaining table.
I have mixed feelings about ending the filibuster. Yes it was once used to protect the minority and yes it was a gimme to slave-holding states but it has become a weapon of the minority to enforce minority rule. The republicons have put us in this position by weaponizing the rules of the government they serve to carry out their agenda whether they have the majority or not. From blocking judicial appointments to blocking military promotions and ambassadorships to filibustering merely to kill legislation, the minority party has been adept at using the legitimate tools of government to effectively render government useless. It would be one thing if they did this to bring attention and compromise but it seems they do it as a political stunt so they can sit back and collect a paycheck bemoaning how government is broke while being the very assholes that broke it. Maybe we go back to the old rules of filibuster and none of this just saying you will filibuster counts as filibuster. Maybe if they had to actually stand there in the Capitol and talk nonstop for hours and hours like the old days they would think twice and come to the bargaining table.