Joseph Lande-O’Malley

3/1/18

Filibusters
A. The filibuster only exists in the U.S. Senate and the idea was created in 1806, but was

not used until 1837. They were still rarely used even after this. To filibuster is the idea

that: as long as a Senator has the floor and can keep talking, a bill cannot be passed.

This idea exists as a way for a minority party to control the floor and delay a bill they

disagree with. Filibusters themselves are not listed anywhere in the Constitution, can be

connected to the Constitutional right of each house to set its own rules. When it initially

began being used, it took a two-thirds vote to stop a filibuster, but in 1975 it was

changed to a three-fifths vote. It was deemed nearly impossible to get a two-thirds vote,

which was why it was changed to a more possible number. In the beginning, it was near

impossible to achieve cloture, but once the number of votes necessary was changed, it

became easier to achieve cloture.

B. The filibuster by Jefferson Smith was very similar to the 1957 filibuster by Strom

Thurmond. Both of the filibusters lasted around twenty-four hours with the men just

rambling on to stop a bill from being passed. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was halted for

long period of time by a number of Senators filibustering. One of the major differences

between the two filibusters is this. The one in the movie was achieved by one person

and in the end stopped the thing he was trying to stop. The 1957 filibuster was achieved

by a few Senators working together but in the end, failed to stop the bill they were

fighting against.

C. Generally the filibuster option is favored by whichever party is currently in minority. For a

long time, this meant that it was loved by the Democratic party but when Barack Obama

became president, the Republican party began using it to try to block anything that was
 being passed. On the flipside, this means that the majority party generally wants to

eliminate the filibuster option. Up to the Obama presidency, Republicans generally

wanted the filibuster eliminated, but when Obama came into office, they began using it

constantly. Then the Democratic party wanted the filibuster eliminated so that Obama

could manage to achieve the things he set out to do.

Works Cited
1. Filibuster Rule
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/21/harry-reid-senate-rules
-republican-filibusters-nominations
2. Democrats Used to Love The Filibuster
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/07/16/democrats
-once-loved-the-filibuster/?utm_term=.a5f239c34623
3. Filibuster
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/sanjay-sanghoee/senate-filibuster-reform
_b_3601221.html
4. The History of the Filibuster
https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-history-of-the-filibuster/
5. Filibuster and Cloture
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Filibuster_
Cloture.htm
6. Constitutional Facts
https://www.usconstitution.net/constfaq_q139.html
7. Civil Rights Act
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-filibuster-that-almost-killed-the-civil
-rights-act/
8. Civil Rights Filibuster
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filib
uster_Ended.htm
9. Strom Thurmond
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Featured_
Bio_Thurmond.htm