Why the U.S. Senate Rarely Passes A Law

2 years ago
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Ever wonder why the United States Senate rarely passes a law? The answer might surprise you.

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Sources/further reading:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/filibuster-word-history-origin
https://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/47/1/Articles/47-1_Jacobi-VanDam.pdf
https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/overview.htm
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/filibuster-explained
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/is-aaron-burr-really-the-father-of-the-filibuster
https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-history-of-the-filibuster/
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4656990
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster_in_the_United_States_Senate
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senate_Reverses_A_Presidential_Censure.htm
https://books.google.com/books?id=dyFH-swq8xIC
https://deadline.com/2021/04/filibuster-mr-smith-goes-to-washington-joe-manchin-1234731889/
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/01/why-the-silent-filibuster-is-unconstitutional/68825/
https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/04/07/the_founding_fathers_rejected_filibusters_771612.html
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/545124-founders-would-roll-their-eyes-at-warrens-filibuster-claim
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/filibuster-myth
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4996887/user-clip-chuck-schumer-filibuster-2005
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/07/01/founders-rejected-supermajority-rule-delays-intrigue-compromise/5355042001/?gnt-cfr=1
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=nulr
https://www.newyorker.com/news/hendrik-hertzberg/hamilton-flays-the-filibuster-and-slams-the-senate
Congress and its Members (Fifteenth Edition) by Roger H. Davidson, Walter J. Oleszek, Frances E. Lee, and Eric Schickler

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#filibuster #ussenate #uspolitics

If it weren’t for the fact that the United States has been so divided over the past 25 years, the filibuster wouldn’t be as big of a deal. The minority party in the Senate has been a LOT louder and more powerful since then. It’s not like the Senate hasn’t passed laws since the 1970s. However, it’s been increasingly difficult for them to pass MEANINGFUL laws ever since.

The reason why it’s so difficult for the U.S. Senate to pass any new law is mostly due to…an accident because the creation of the filibuster was an accident. Only later did the minority political party make arguments that the filibuster was a good idea in order to protect the minority.

Whenever you hear someone argue that the Founding Fathers actually wanted the Senate to have a filibuster, I doubt this person actually knows what the heck they are talking about. In fact, if you go back and read what many of them said and wrote, they warned that making supermajorities a thing would lead to bills never getting passed.

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