Filibuster: The Problem With “They Started It”

by Stuart Shapiro

Whenever the incredible obstructionism by GOP Senators is brought up, Republicans like to cite the fact that Democrats used the filibuster against President Bush (much like my five year old uses his brother’s behavior as his defense).  Well, the handy chart above from Jamelle Bouie shows that facts once again argue against Republicans.   They have more than doubled since President Obama took office.  As Ed Kilgore says:

I’d go him one better and offer the colloquial analogy that Republicans claiming they are just responding to Democratic use of the filibuster in the recent past are like someone who calls in an air strike to blow up a neighbor’s house because of suspicions that the teenaged kid living there keyed their car.

Majority Leader Reid now says that he regrets opposing efforts to curtail the filibuster back when the Democrats may have had enough votes to do something about it.  I fear that this is too little too late.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.