Open letter

Dear Senator McCain,

I am a faithful and reliable Republican voter, and an old Arizonan. I have voted for you in the past. If you vote against the current plan to restrict the application of the filibuster to judicial nominees, I will never vote for you again. I will support your opponents in the primaries. I will support your opponents in the general elections. I will make no donation to any political campaign which might supply you with funds.

Sincerely,

D. L. P.

Comments

[Cyfir]

I have never, ever understood the purpose of a rule that allows the minority to completely and permanently table a piece of legislation. I'm a big fan of the "true" filibuster, where you actually have to bring the senate to a screeching halt. Gets public attention on the issue, so it can be re-examined by the public at large, but you *will* have a vote on it.

[Dan]

The 'true' filibuster seems like the best option to me. It allows a minority to hold legislation up indefinitely, but at a significant political and personal cost. By restoring the 'Mr. Smith' system, it would strip the Democrats of most of their talking points.

But I'll bet if you could get an honest answer, there isn't a Senator in the chamber who would actually want to deal with the old system. The cots in the hall and the long hours don't appeal, regardless of how healthy the system is for the Congress. The Republicans like the easy filibuster as much as the Democrats.