Today over 350 scholars of the filibuster, the Senate, and American democracy—including a dozen Pulitzer Prize winners—sent a letter to U.S. senators calling for filibuster reform. See the letter here, and read our thread below 🧵⬇️ medium.com/@Historians-Sc…
The letter argues that the Framers of the Constitution explicitly rejected supermajority thresholds for regular legislation in the wake of the Articles of Confederation, “which prescribed a supermajority for a variety of federal actions” and led to paralyzing gridlock.
As Alexander Hamilton warned in Federalist No. 22, minority vetoes in Congress would “destroy the energy of the government” by keeping it in “a state of inaction.”
The letter also warns that the #filibuster is weakening public faith in American democracy. “Over the last 30 years, nearly 80 percent of bills blocked by the filibuster were bipartisan." This "inability to take action on broadly popular policies... is untenable for a democracy.”
Filibuster reform is essential. “At stake is not only a functional Congress, but public faith in our system of government.” Read more here: protectdemocracy.org/update/over-35…
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