Fix the Filibuster, Don’t Merely Get Rid of It

According to Rep. Tom McClintock (Hillsdale College "Imprimis," January 2017), the filibuster began to be abused in 1970 after then-Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield "instituted a ‘two-track' system that allowed the Senate, by unanimous consent or the approval of the minority leader, to bypass a filibustered bill and go on to another." This system, called the Mansfield Rule, relieved a lot of the difficulties of filibustering. No longer would a filibustering senator have to talk through the night to keep a filibuster going. As Rep. McClintock states, "The filibuster thus entered the couch-potato world of virtual reality, where an actual speech is no longer required to block a vote. Today the mere threat of a filibuster suffices to kill a bill as the Senate shrugs and goes on to other business."

If the Mansfield Rule were undone, we could go back to the filibuster requiring a serious commitment from the filibustering senator, and the number of filibusters would drop precipitously. The filibuster doesn't need to be killed, just returned to its pre-Mansfield Rule form.

Nell S. Kroeger

Albuquerque, N.M.

Rep. Biggs referers to the legislative gymnastics that were required in both houses of Congress to even bring the Republican sponsored bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act to the floor of the Senate for a vote. The ability to enact legislation consistent with the wishes of the majority of their collective constituency is simply an illusion if legalistic maneuvers and arcane procedures instituted within the confines of this governing body serve only to satisfy the gamesmanship and to demonstrate the cleverness of our elected officials.

While a simple majority for decision-making doesn't always or even perhaps often provide the result that satisfies everyone, it is the common thread of governing that this nation was founded on and has sustained us for well over two centuries.

Joe Payne

Sharonville, Ohio