Tom Oliphant was on Al Franken today and reminded people that during the Civil Rights Era the use of the filibuster was widely abused by the likes of Strom Thurmond to prevent liberal legislation from being adopted.
So, except for the twisting of history now being used over the judges it was usually seen as an obstructionist tactic.
So what would be a useful alternative that would protect the rights of the minority (note that Thurmond was not protecting the rights of the minority, but supporting racism)?
It's not sufficient to just support a minority viewpoint, there needs to be some additional mechanims in place.