Menu Close

Articles on Filibuster

Displaying all articles

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen behind security fencing on June 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Can Americans be shielded from the U.S. Supreme Court?

The combination of crumbling democratic norms in the U.S. Supreme Court appointments process and an ideological court out of step with mainstream America raises questions of how it could be reformed.
Bills have a long journey that includes going through the parliamentarian’s office in the Senate. Here, a corridor in the Senate. dkfielding/iStock/Getty Images Plus

The obscure, unelected Senate official whose rulings can help – or kill – a bill’s chance to pass

The Senate has a lot of rules, and its parliamentarian interprets what those rules allow – and what they don’t. That can mean a bill will face either huge obstacles, or very few obstacles to passage.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats meet with reporters before the House voted to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package on Feb. 26, 2021. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Why using reconciliation to pass Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus bill violates the original purpose of the process

In 1974, Congress invented the reconciliation process to reduce deficits. More recently, reconciliation has been used in ways that increase the deficit. A public policy scholar explains the process.
Colombians look on as House of Representatives prepares to vote on transitional justice framework after 10 months of delays. Jaime Saldarriaga/Retuers

The latest threat to peace in Colombia: Congress

Conservative congressional reps in Colombia have been stalling votes on key parts of the country’s peace accords through endless petitions and nonstop debate. In short, they’re filibustering.
‘Candidate’ has its roots in the word ‘candid’, to be frank. It’s hard not to believe that we’ve strayed a little from those noble aspirations. Cesare Maccari/Wikimedia Commons

From donkey votes to dog whistles, our election language has a long and political history

Many of the most commonly used election terms have a long linguistic history, stretching from ancient Rome to modern-day America and Australia.
‘As president, I will repeal every word of Obamacare,’ Ted Cruz proclaimed during the Feburary 25 GOP debate. Mike Stone/Reuters

How difficult would it be to repeal Obamacare for good?

The leading GOP candidates all claim one of their top priorities will be to repeal Obamacare. An architect of the original law outlines the thorny – but plausible – path to repeal.
President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress in 2009 Lawrence Jackson

Filibusters make for strange bedfellows

When Republicans took over Congress, many observers predicted a goodbye to gridlock. Not so fast, however. Politicians say they hate filibusters – until they want to use them.
Barack Obama has signed into law all but two of the bills to come before him, but is likely to use his power of presidential veto more often in the final two years of his term. White House/Pete Souza

US votes for presidential vetoes, filibusters and partisan fractures

Perhaps no sentiment better defines the American political psyche than distrust of government. It prompted the constitutional framers 226 years ago to create a system of national government that separates…

Top contributors

More