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It slows things down, but many of the worst legislative idiocies have been rushed. Seldom is there an emergency so great that the rights of the minority can not only be trampled with impunity, but we can glory in trampling them.
It also shows respect for political rivals. This is a good thing, because in a free, non-Balkanized society precisely such respect--if only the attribution of good will, something seriously lacking in current American fringe discourse--is vital. It's really only been recently that filibusters have been taken to be a uniquely partisan activity. There's nothing preventing a bill from having a majority, 1/2 repub and 1/2 dem, and still being subject to a filibuster. The "us" versus "them" are entirely determined by how they'd vote on a particular bill.
"The filibuster is basically an adult tantrum." Oddly, it's when something gets in the way of what my 5-year-old wants (he always has a great reason for why what he wants is the most important thing in the last 20 seconds), he pitches a fit. When he pitches a fit, he wants Mommy and Daddy to make the other kids be quiet and do what he wants, or he wants Mommy to make Daddy do what he wants. He wants something given to him now, without considering the larger picture.
Did I mention he always has a reason for making sure everything is quietly and immediately subjugated to his will?
There is a better way to work out arbitration. Set up a purely non-partisan philosopher king who takes in the suggestions, the best research and polling results (conducted in an impartial and unbiased manner), and then weighs the pros and cons. He (or she) then synthesizes the suggestions, adds his own, and then announces what everybody will have wanted all along. It's called a dictatorship, where only one side has rights.
There are pale imitations, where only one side has rights, but those are only simulacra of fairness, fairness as perceived by the winners. It's a scorched earth policy driven not by an enlightened outlook, but fairly base emotions. It visits the sins of the fathers on their infants and calls it "justice", and delights in grief inflicted on others.
I believe filibusters should be painful. Filibusters should actually have to take the floor when the House or Senate is in session. This will limit them to things that truly matter to the filibusters. Ending a filibuster can be tricky, too: If you stop and call for a vote and the right people aren't there to enforce procedural rules and quorum requirements, the majority
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