There is a filinuster rule that used to let the minority party in either house stop bills by speaking for extremely long periods of time during debate. Over the years the House got rid of it and the Senate’s version morphed into treating the announcement that someone would filibuster as the same thing so declaring it effectively shuts down anything that doesn’t have overwhelming support.
Republicans keep it because they can obstruct even if they don’t control any branch. Dems keep it because they want it for leverage to negotiate, not to obstruct. The difference is that over the last few decades Republicans will negotiate and then filibuster anyway so the tool as a whole benefits them while being a negative for Dems who can’t overcome it to pass effective legislation that would help people.
The filibuster is a turd in a punch bowl. It takes a lot less effort to shit in a punch bowl than it takes to make the punch, and one party wants to shit in the punch bowl, even when they are hosting the party.
There is a filinuster rule that used to let the minority party in either house stop bills by speaking for extremely long periods of time during debate. Over the years the House got rid of it and the Senate’s version morphed into treating the announcement that someone would filibuster as the same thing so declaring it effectively shuts down anything that doesn’t have overwhelming support.
Republicans keep it because they can obstruct even if they don’t control any branch. Dems keep it because they want it for leverage to negotiate, not to obstruct. The difference is that over the last few decades Republicans will negotiate and then filibuster anyway so the tool as a whole benefits them while being a negative for Dems who can’t overcome it to pass effective legislation that would help people.
The filibuster is a turd in a punch bowl. It takes a lot less effort to shit in a punch bowl than it takes to make the punch, and one party wants to shit in the punch bowl, even when they are hosting the party.