[1]U.S. Senator Chris Murphy
Friends -
This week, we had the votes to move forward on the For the People Act. Every single Democrat was ready to vote yes, but the Republican minority used the filibuster to block us.
The filibuster is a dangerous threat to American democracy.
Pundits and activists have been debating this for awhile, but noticeably absent from this discussion have been the voices of most Democratic senators. But this week, one of my Senate colleagues wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in defense of this Senate rule. And I truly do appreciate my colleague’s willingness to engage publicly in a serious debate — the stakes are too high for this discussion to happen in the back room. So on Wednesday, I went to the Senate floor to give a response.
My colleagues who defend the filibuster argue it preserves the sanctity of the Senate and ensures consistency in democracy by preventing rapid policy changes that flip back and forth as the party in power changes. And sure, that is a noble idea.
But on the Senate floor, I made the case that it is ahistorical to say the modern filibuster is a long-standing tradition that preserves some kind of necessary consistency for a healthy democracy. For one, it was used far less frequently for most of our nation’s history — reserved almost exclusively for racist white senators who wanted to block Civil Rights legislation.
As recently as 1994, Senator Feinstein’s assault weapons ban passed with only 52 votes — meanwhile background checks failed because Republicans filibustered in 2013 despite 54 members who were in favor. The rapid escalation of the filibuster’s use in modern history has ground this chamber to halt.
We have to understand how urgent this moment is. Our democracy is being attacked from within by one of our major political parties, and the voice of American voters is no longer being heard.
The growing populist fervor is a clear indication that the American people are absolutely tired of elites substituting their own judgment for the will of the electorate under some pretense of protecting people from themselves. Upholding the filibuster usurps power from the electorate under the patently false presumption that the American people cannot be trusted to govern themselves — all at a moment when, more than anything, people just want to trust that their vote counts for something.
And right now, the filibuster is standing in the way of progress that people are demanding. Today, the Republican party has tried to install a losing candidate as president. Now they are openly trying to stop people from voting.
It is obvious that there is no plausible path to get 10 Republican votes on legislation to preserve voting rights and our democracy. Their party has given up on democracy. It sucks, but they have.
But the fight is just beginning. We must keep making calls, keep organizing, and keep the pressure on both Democratic and Republican skeptics.
To those who feel like the hard work of last year was for naught or who worry about the future of democracy and our planet, I assure you that far more of my Democratic colleagues are where I’m at on this issue than the very small minority in favor of the filibuster who have dominated this debate in the media.
My hope is that by leaning into this debate publicly, it invites more of my colleagues to do the same. Perhaps collectively, our voices can add to the pressure that so many of you have already put on this institution to recognize that the health and future of our democracy must come above all else.
Every best wish,
Chris Murphy
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