I, like many of you, just got an e-mail from this site's proprietor encouraging us to work toward the elimination of the Senate filibuster.
Do those advocating the abolition of the filibuster not appreciate that the Republicans may once again reclaim the Senate majority? Are that that dumb?
Or are they that clever?
Join me below for a dirty little secret...
Democrats have been relatively unwilling/unable to use the filibuster to keep the Republicans from doing terrible things (how terrible? How about blowing up the budget with tax cuts for the rich, or putting ideologues on the Supreme Court).
The subtext to the call for abolition of the filibuster is, "This is a weapon that we don't know how to use. But they do. So please get rid of it."
There are, of course, alternatives. For example, I'm with those who call for the majority to insist that those threatening to filibuster actually do so. Let America see and hear those who don't want to extend unemployment benefits reading aloud from cookbooks in the middle of the night. I doubt they'll come across like Jimmy Stewart. On the flip side, if and when the tables are turned, Democrats with principled objections to Republican initiatives could use filibusters as a forum to make their arguments.