Politics or Principle?: Filibustering in the United States SenateRowman & Littlefield, 2001 M09 19 - 264 pages Is American democracy being derailed by the United States Senate filibuster? Is the filibuster an important right that improves the political process or an increasingly partisan tool that delays legislation and thwarts the will of the majority? Are century-old procedures in the Senate hampering the institution from fulfilling its role on the eve of the 21st century? The filibuster has achieved almost mythic proportions in the history of American politics, but it has escaped a careful, critical assessment for more than 50 years. In this book, Sarah Binder and Steven Smith provide such an assessment as they address the problems and conventional wisdom associated with the Senate's long-standing tradition of extended debate. The authors examine the evolution of the rules governing Senate debate, analyze the consequences of these rules, and evaluate reform proposals. They argue that in an era of unprecedented filibustering and related obstructionism, old habits are indeed undermining the Senate's ability to meet its responsibilities. Binder and Smith scrutinize conventional wisdom about the filibuster—and show that very little of it is true. They focus on five major myths: that unlimited debate is a fundamental right to differentiate the Senate from the House of Representatives; that the Senate's tradition as a deliberative body requires unlimited debate; that the filibuster is reserved for a few issues of the utmost national importance; that few measures are actually killed by the filibuster; and that senators resist changing the rules because of a principled commitment to deliberation. In revising conventional wisdom about the filibuster, Binder and Smith contribute to ongoing debates about the dynamics of institutional change in the American political system. The authors conclude by suggesting reforms intended to enhance the power of determined majorities while preserving the rights of chamber minorities. They advocate, for example, lowering the number of votes required to end debate while increasing the amount of time for senators to debate controversial bills. Reform is possible, they suggest, that is consistent with the Senate's unique size and responsibilities. |
Contents
The Politics and Principle of the Filibuster | 1 |
The Framers and Minority Rights in the Senate | 4 |
The Modern Senate Filibuster | 6 |
Revisiting the Received Wisdom | 19 |
A Perspective on Institutional Change | 23 |
Reforming the Senate | 26 |
The Original versus the Traditional Senate | 29 |
The Framers and the Design of the Senate | 30 |
Why Are There Not More Trivial Filibusters? | 111 |
Conclusion | 115 |
Appendix 4A | 116 |
Appendix 4B | 119 |
Appendix 4C | 121 |
The Filibuster and the LittleHarm Thesis | 127 |
Measures Killed by Filibuster | 129 |
Beyond Measures Killed by Filibusters | 141 |
Procedural Choices in the Original Senate | 33 |
Legislating in the Original Senate | 39 |
Conclusions | 50 |
Senate Tradition Revisited | 53 |
Contours of Senate Tradition | 55 |
Legislating in the Traditional Senate | 59 |
Tradition Viewed from Within | 70 |
Toward Cloture | 78 |
Tradition Revisited | 79 |
Politics Principle and the Trivialization of the Filibuster | 83 |
The Substance and Significance of Issues Subject to Filibusters | 85 |
Partisanship and Filibusters | 90 |
Patterns of Support and Opposition to Cloture | 92 |
Patterns of Support and Opposition to Cloture Reform | 105 |
The Filibuster and the Moderation of Legislation | 153 |
Conclusion | 158 |
Senate Support for Limits on Debate | 161 |
Placing Limits on Debate in the Standing Rules | 163 |
Placing Limits on Debate in Statutes | 185 |
Conclusion | 194 |
The Past and Future of the Senate | 197 |
The Political Past of the Filibuster | 198 |
When Is Reform Expected? | 205 |
Proposals for Reform | 209 |
Concluding Observations | 217 |
Notes | 219 |
243 | |