Photo from the Indianapolis Sun
The term filibuster’s origins are as murky as the press coverage surrounding it, or more precisely the lack of coverage of the current work stoppage in the Senate. Loosely interpreted, it refers to a freebooter or lone wolf revolutionary but has come to mean obstructing law making by talking a piece of legislation to death. A Senate rule designed to safeguard the minority, the filibuster has existed for two centuries and was designed to inhibit the “tyranny of the majority.” Father of the U.S. Constitution James Madison foresaw the Senate’s role as the saucer meant to cool the sometimes boiling hot cup of the House of Representatives. The filibuster provides a process to that end. (more…)
The Indianapolis Sun 