informeddebate
YES
should it be
harder to
Julie Kleese
Omaha, NE
filibuster?
Taddeus McNeal
Montgomery, AL
Prolonging issues
doesn’t seem to work.
Diane Garabedian
Troy, MI
They use this method to
stop bills that are good
ones from going through.
A fILIbus TER ALLOws one or more u.s.
senators to delay or entirely prevent a
vote on a proposal. According to the cur-
rent rules, a senator or group of senators
may speak for as long as they wish and
on any topic they choose, unless three-
fifths of the senators (usually 60 out of
100 senators) bring debate to a close.
supporters of changing the rules say the filibuster favors
the will of a minority over the majority voice in America. we
already have a system of checks and balances to temper pure
majority rule, they add, but to impose the will of the few over
the will of the many is undemocratic and dangerous.
Opponents of changing the rules say the filibuster makes
the minority voice in the senate relevant. They say the fili-
buster slows things down, giving all Americans the chance to
learn more about the issue in question and helping to prevent
the passing of potentially harmful laws.
what do you think?
bIll carlsOn
NO
from members:
Richard Nelson
Littleton, CO
Marisa Monroe
Columbus, OH
If the issue is contro-
versial enough that
they aren’t able to
agree ... it is more
important to me that
they work harder on a solution
that is mutually agreeable.
find out more about this topic on the Web:
www.counterpunch.org/mariner1126.html
www.below-the-fold.com/2009/02/in-defense-of-the-filibuster/
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/003317.html
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/02/the_new_filibuster.php
Eduardo Montero
Mebane, NC
Our forefathers got
things right the first
time and we should quit
tinkering with a system
that isn’t broken.
