Democrats should abandon their fight to abolish the filibuster – Gainesville Sun

Justin Guerra| Guest columnist

Voting rights fails in Senate along with filibuster changes

Senate Democrats come up short on a last-ditch effort to change the filibuster rules in order to advance on voting rights.

Associated Press, USA TODAY

As Senate Democrats struggle to pass their legislative agenda with the midterms quickly approaching, they have considered the nuclear option abolishing the Senate filibuster. The death of the filibuster would leave them free to push their policy goals through Congress, setting them up to claim victories to their constituents as they seek reelection, but at what cost for the future of the national legislature?

Democrats efforts seem short-sighted they wont be in power forever, a reality that is becoming increasingly evident as Nov. 8 draws ever closer. In order to protect both the future of their party and the country, Senate Democrats would do better to abandon their fight to abolish the parliamentary procedure.

First, the filibuster embodies the republican principal of protecting the rights of the minority despite majoritarian rule. Although majoritarian governments areknown to be more productive and efficient, people like former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers argue that they are also equipped with the power to pass the flurry of legislation so commonly associated with authoritative regimes.

Even James Madison noted this potential defect in Federalist Papers No. 9 and 51, arguing that majoritarian rule, although an expression of the majority of interests involved, may also concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression against minorities. This threat, Madison observes, is particularly evident in cases of competitive political factions. He argues that when the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may … truly be said to reign.

Although not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, the Senate filibuster nonetheless embodies the constitutional theme of restrained power. In this case, the filibuster offers an additional check on the majority party in the Senate, protecting the interests of the minority.

As a majority party unchecked by the filibuster, Democrats can force any bill on their legislative agenda to a vote, omitting participation from Republican senators in the legislative process. Therefore, without the filibuster, the rights of the minority will be insecure.

While Senate Republicans stand to suffer from the abolishment of the filibuster today, Democrats efforts are short-sighted given that they are the victims of tomorrow. Midterms rarely benefit the office-holding party. In fact, the presidents party has gained seats in Congress during a midterm election just three times in the last century, as the American public checks the presidents power.

In 2022, with majorities already razor-thin (with just a nine-seat advantage in the House, and a single tie-breaking vote in the Senate), Republicans are poised to retake the majority in one or both chambers. And even if Democrats do manage to keep the majority this year, they wont have it forever. Sooner or later, the Senate will return to Republican hands the United States could see a united Republican government as early as 2024.

Democrats, as they indeed have done in the past, will once again be praising the filibuster as a shield protecting the country from the unitary will of a united Republican majority. In the past, party leaders have often praised or cursed the filibuster depending on their partys majority or minority status in the Senate, only to flip their position in a few years when that status changes.

We all recognize the threat that failing to pass necessary and overdue legislation on voting rights, womens reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ equality will have on our democracy. However, I write in support of the filibuster to ensure that when those changes are made, that they endure, and are built from deliberation. Otherwise, those very bills, which we profess will save our democracy, will doom it once congressional majorities change every two years.

While these issues without a doubt deserve attention, any future Congress might repeal those legislative efforts and replace them with an agenda focused on reversing those policy goals. The only sure way to guarantee lasting legislative change is to guarantee that legislation passes the criticism of robust debate and hard-won consensus.

In summary, we must heed Madisons warnings, lest the Senate succumb to the whim of an interested and overbearing majority. The filibuster must be preserved.

Justin Guerra is a political science student at the University of Florida.

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Democrats should abandon their fight to abolish the filibuster - Gainesville Sun