“God, that was a dumb idea.” Mitch McConnell yesterday on the 2005 Republican effort to kill the filibuster
In hindsight, it was a good idea, actually. But “killing the filibuster” is a misleading way to describe it. The filibuster should continue to exist, but it shouldn’t be a matter of procedure anymore. In other words, breaking a filibuster is a standard part of the process now, with cloture votes built into the system.
If you eliminate the need for a 60-vote supermajority for cloture — or any cloture votes at all — you force the minority party, if they really want to stop a bill, to literally stand up with the adult diapers and filibuster. Talk and talk and talk, and to take the public scrutiny for it. That’s the hinge in the all of this. The public doesn’t understand or even know when a filibuster takes place. With a real-life filibuster, I think they would. And that makes the filibuster a politically risky tactic, but still one that’s available if need be.
