Don't know about you, but I felt some pleasure in the Rand Paul filibuster marathon. Aside from anything else, it was a resuscitation of the Real Filibuster.
T'hell with Jimmy Stewart and all the sentimental c**p we indulge in: this was the sweaty work of the Senate. Or rather, the sight once again of politicians with their hair unruly and needing to go so badly they can't feel anything. Gee! Actual work! And in the Senate!
Ezra Klein also writes about this with some glee. It's one of his best pieces.
I wish filibuster reform would occur as part of a calm, bipartisan effort to fix the Senate. But I think the likelier process looks like what’s happened over these last few days — but on steroids.
Imagine that Justice Anthony Kennedy decides he wants to step down from the Supreme Court to make one last go as a lounge singer in Vegas. President Obama nominates a left-leaning replacement. Can Republicans really permit Democrats to attain a majority on the Court? And if they filibuster to stop them, does anyone really doubt that Democrats would eventually shut the filibuster down?
2) That said, Wednesday’s filibuster is actually an old-school talkathon — exactly the kind of filibuster Merkley wanted to encourage. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) went down to the floor of the Senate and used his prerogatives as a senator to mount a sustained, public argument against John Brennan’s nomination to lead the CIA. Now Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is picking up the argument. This is the highest purpose of the filibuster: Allowing a passionate minority to slow down the Senate and make their case to both their colleagues and the American people. If more filibusters went like this, there’d be no reason to demand reform. And if there is reform, it needs to hold open the possibility for filibusters like this. ...Klein, WaPo
