In the News Is the filibuster a drag on democracy?
“The filibuster has become a way to shift blame to someone else, to [either] an oppressive and draconian majority or a totally empowered minority,” says James Wallner, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute who’s written extensively about Senate procedure. “It’s a way to say, ‘I can’t do X. Therefore it’s OK for me to stop trying.’”
Using the nuclear option to get rid of the filibuster would only further destabilize the Senate and prove that senators don’t really care anymore about following the rules that govern the chamber, Mr. Wallner says.
