Angus King
Angus King

My view of the filibuster is either you've got to lower vote edge or make people really filibuster if they feel that seriously about a piece of legislation.

Ari Melber
Ari Melber

As every newspaper reader, liberal activist, or parliamentary junkie knows, the overarching barrier to most of Obama's agenda is the abuse of the filibuster in the Senate. In fact, several of Obama's second term priorities are not ideas in search of a majority - they are majorities in search of an up-or-down vote.

Ari Melber
Ari Melber

The Dream Act and the DISCLOSE Act, to name two, had majorities in both chambers during Obama's first term, but they were filibustered to death. They probably await a similar fate unless the filibuster is reformed.

Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin

We demand that segregation be ended in every school district in the year 1963! We demand that we have effective civil rights legislation - no compromise, no filibuster - and that include public accommodations, decent housing, integrated education, FEPC and the right to vote.

Brian Schatz
Brian Schatz

The filibuster is used more aggressively, so I think doing each individual appropriations bill through regular order would be a home run. But I think that we should try to hit a few singles.

Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill

We shouldn't deny the right of the minority to filibuster, but we need to do a much better job of making them own it. That way, the American people could figure out who is being obstructionist and who is willing to compromise.

Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce

They say women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.

Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce

They say that women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.

Dick Durbin
Dick Durbin

You know, the purpose of reconciliation is to avoid the filibuster. The filibuster is an effort to talk something to death.

Douglas Wilder
Douglas Wilder

Healthy debate has been replaced by automatic sensors that eliminate the need for actual talking during a filibuster - a la 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' Robust debate is necessary in a democratic society. Instead, our discourse has been relegated to media spin by expert entertainers.