The Filibuster: A History of Obstruction, Minority Veto, and Democratic Frustration
Credit: Gage Skidmore; Senate Democrats The Senate filibuster is often romanticized as a noble safeguard of minority rights, a procedural guardrail that forces consensus and slows the passions of majorities. Yet the actual history of the filibuster—its accidental creation, its use by factional minorities, and its long record of blocking popular and essential legislation—tells a very different story. From the beginning, the filibuster has been