Most Democrats Do Not Want To Safeguard Our Democracy

We change the rules when the filibuster is abused. There is nothing subjective about filibuster abuse.

The filibuster was never meant to be used for everything. Hell, hows this for 'subjectivity' now repubs are filibustering procedural votes, the resolution just to put a bill on the floor for debate, they don't even want to do that. If that isn't abuse, you tell me what is.

There used to be, once upon a time, a few filibusters every year, only on the big legislation that they felt passionate about.

That is when the had the talking filibuster which required 40 senators to be present, and the person on the floor would talk and talk in an attempt to run out the clock, unless a cloture vote of 60 could stop the debate. When it was thus, they use it sparingly because you are not going to find a senator to talk for hours unless it's an important bill. Moreover, 40 senators are not going to want to sit there for hours, either.

I propose that plus one additional change, that the 'talk' has to actually be about the bill before the floor ( no more reading Dr. Seuss, or some such irrelevant nonsense, just to occupy the floor, like they used to do -- which they didn't do originally, either, that was towards the end before the big change) and no repeating pages from the speech, each page read must be different, one long continuing argument.

That will stop the filibuster abuse and things can start getting done.

 

And which party has determined the filibuster rules are being abused?