Progressives Should Be Careful What They Wish For

Abolishing the filibuster, overruling or firing the Senate parliamentarian, and primarying moderate Democrats could come back to haunt us in the future.

However, these voices should be careful what they wish for.

Yes, there are tremendous problems with the filibuster, as Adam Jentleson documents in his new book Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy. And, as he also accurately points out, it has more often been used as a weapon by Republicans than by Democrats since they, unlike their counterparts, are perfectly content to let the work of government grind to a standstill. In this logic, killing the filibuster would allow the Democrats to enact all sorts of (very laudable) policies, most notably a new voting rights act. It’s worth noting, though, that the Democratic majority in the Senate is a very fragile thing indeed and, should the winds of fate sweep it away, either in 2022 or in 2024, it’s entirely possible that a Republican Senate majority, freed of the (admittedly paper thin) constraint of the filibuster, could do even more damage than they’ve been able to do so far.

More concerning are the voices calling for the Senate, including and especially Vice…

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