The Filibuster

The U.S. Senate always called itself "the world's greatest deliberative body," even in the 19th century, when seats were fairly blatantly purchased. (Until 1913, senators were elected by state legislatures.)

Even after 1913, the Senate has been arguably the least representative legislative body in the Western world. Because each state has two senators, a senator from California, for example, represents thirty times as many people as a senator from Wyoming.

This problem isn't going to be fixed. It is built into our Constitution.

But rules of procedure in the senate aren't determined by the Constitution. They have evolved in recent years to a situation where any senator can prevent the senate from considering any particular bill simply by filing a piece of paper.

Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, has made a reasonable proposal in the New York Times that might unclog the senate. A central feature of his proposal would be to bring back the "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" style of filibuster. When filibusters were done that way, they were remarkably rare.

I think it is a good idea and would greatly improve the public image of the senate. It might also help get things done.