Interesting thought I had today. Regardless of whether or not it is fair to el presidente or his crazy nominess, preserving the filibuster is an essential part of democracy. I'm too tired to provide a sexy lead in so you'll just have to trust me.....
When we argue about the filibuster, a lot of us focus on the insanely crazy policies of the judges on the receiving end- and we are right to. But the reason we must preserve the filibuster is because it is one of those checks on democracy that ironically makes our system fair and truly democratic.
Because let's face it- the filibuster is at its heart undemocratic. It prevents the will of the majority of a legislative body from becoming law. But the problem with a democracy in its simplest form- 51% majority up or down- is that it is basically a tyranny. Take South Africa. the ANC wins each election- quite freely and fairly- with a huge supermajority, 70, 75%. So even though the election was free and fair, 25 to 30% of South Africans are completely and utterly devoid of any political representation. What the ANC wants the ANC gets- not because they are thugs, or because they repress dissent (this is open to debate) but simply because there is not enough opposition to generate a stumbling block. Effectively, South Africa is a one-party state. And we are getting there. A democracy is only a democracy if multiple viewpoints and systems have the power to check each other- even if we have to allow the minority the right to check the majority. If the filibuster is eliminated, because of the oversimplified concept of "majority rule," for all practical purposes the 48% of us who voted Democrat in 2004 will be completely devoid of political representation.
You know what, this is insanely obvious. I need more sleep. But still, it worries me.