I'm an idealist, I realize that.
But I need someone to convince me that we should allow filibustering to continue. I understand that there are already some restrictions on the process, but I want more. I think it should be outlawed.
It's the most undemocratic, unAmerican thing that happens in Washington, D.C. Basically, you're preventing a law from being passed by wasting time talking about something completely unrelated to the law being proposed. If you disagree with a law being proposed, by all means, disagree. But disagree out loud, in front of other lawmakers. The American people hired you to talk about, and pass, laws. You should be doing nothing else.
From my point of view, if you're filibustering, it means exactly one thing: you don't have a good reason for disagreeing with the law being proposed. If you had an argument, a good and/or persuasive argument, you'd use it. Instead, you're being a dick, wasting taxpayer dollars for hours at a time. Your best plan for not passing a law is to trick people into leaving the building.
I asked a politically-minded friend of mine years ago why we couldn't outlaw filibustering and her answer was that it would violate the First Amendment. I don't want to do that. It's my favorite Amendment. But it already has limits, like endangering people by yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater.
I propose a new limit to the First Amendment: in a room where laws are passed or rejected, members of Congress are required to talk about the laws being proposed.
Is that too extreme? Is there a gentler way we could accomplish the same thing? Should I just give up and accept that part of living in a free country means our Representatives will often be paid to act like assholes?