Abolish the Senate Filibuster Y/N

Abolish because otherwise there's no way to pass any meaningful Democratic legislation for a long time.

Always looked bonkers this to me; is it inhumane? It seems so. Has anyone ever fainted, or worse?

Abolish the senate

otm, the Senate is garbaggio

the idea that abolishing the filibuster represents some sort of "nuclear option" looks positively quaint these days

i'm no longer invested in what deck chairs they do or don't decide to re-arrange

Abolish because otherwise there's no way to pass any meaningful Democratic legislation for a long time.

― jaymc

this makes sense but I don't get why Bernie seems lukewarm on the idea

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

abolish it, kill gerrymandering, set term limits, etc.

I’d actually like to hear an argument FOR keeping the filibuster, honestly don’t even know what’s positive about it

Abolish the senate

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Bernie wyd

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, said on Saturday that while he believes the filibuster process needs some reform, he doesn’t want to get rid of it. And people who do should be wary.

“Donald Trump supports the ending of the filibuster. So you should be a little bit nervous if Donald Trump supports it,” he told HuffPost in a sit-down interview before a town hall.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-filibuster_n_5cab5822e4b0dca03304dae5

Whats the reasoning behind his reluctance? Not the stated reason, which doesn't even really seem to add up to anything, but the real reason? Its kind of a mark against him at the moment:(

well, on the bright side electing him to the president actually serves to give him less decision-making power over this particular question

I didn't vote in this poll, because I'm of two minds about this question and have not resolved my internal struggle over it. I understand the essentially undemocratic nature of the Senate and the filibuster, but also understand that the restraint that the Senate imposes can sometimes be a useful check and balance.

Just remember, states with small populations control the Senate and the Republicans largely control those states. Under the current circumstances, the 'minority' interest that is safeguarded by the filibuster can actually represent a majority of US citizens.

On the other hand, the near complete destruction of the mutual courtesies that once preserved a measure of goodwill among Senators means that the filibuster is just about the last survival of such quaint traditions and it appears doomed to fall anyway, so why not give it the final death blow and be the first to take advantage of it? The Republicans have proved themselves altogether capable of doing it and for the same reason I just cited.

Where trust has already been so thoroughly destroyed there's no reason not to be first to deploy the inevitable weapon in your favor.

M4A can't pass through budget reconciliation either, so without filibuster reform it's not happening: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/8/18251707/medicare-for-all-bill-senate-filibuster-budget-reconciliation-byrd-rule

why anyone would allow a filibuster to disrupt their procedures is a real puzzle

I've yet to see anyone make a decent case for not abolishing it tbh