Burning the Midnight Oil for Progressive Populism
twenTYTwelve reviews an article about what if the Filibuster has not existed?
Suppose that we simply forced a real filibuster, again? The reform is simple: if 2/3 of the quorum responding to the last quorum call voted for cloture, cloture is achieved and the filibuster is quashed.
Today, you just need a couple of Senators in the Minority, one to hold the floor, make endless quorum calls, the other to take over in case the first has to go to the bathroom. Its the majority who has to sleep in cots to answer the andless quorum calls if they want to force the issue.
Flip it so that the majority can bum-rush the quorum call and get cloture. Fifteen or so of the majority have to hang around as night watchmen, and any time that it looks like the minority is wavering, the word goes out, the majority show up and if the minority really is caught napping, cloture is achieved.
So that means that whole minority has to hold the floor. If the minority is serious about pursuing a filibuster, they have to stay in the Senate Chambers as long as the majority is willing to pursue the fight. Meanwhile only about a third of the majority at a time has to remain to press the issue.
The abuse of the filibuster is founded on the Republicans working out that the filibuster was harder on the majority pressing for a vote than on an obstructionist minority. So change that equation.
Waddya think?