Unfortunately, our federal courts, which were designed to be outside of politics, have become entrenched in partisan battles. Slashing court budgets and refusing to confirm judges for petty political advantage is now standard practice.
On last week's background check vote, special interests were able to commandeer some of our sovereignty by exploiting arcane Senate rules and porous campaign finance laws, breaching the social contract at the heart of our democracy.
While Sen. Rand Paul’s talking filibuster of John Brennan as CIA Director was an improvement to ongoing silent obstructionism in the Senate, he and his colleagues should also drop their ongoing silent filibuster of judicial nominees.
Senate leaders Thursday adopted a bipartisan package of rules changes designed to smooth Senate procedure and curb government gridlock, but the dream of truly reforming the filibuster came to an end (for now).
Every senator needs to put “fix the filibuster” at the top of his or her New Year’s Resolution List. Specifically, they need to resolve to pursue serious rules reforms that can curb the exponential rate of obstruction in recent decades. And it must happen on January 3rd.
America is the world’s leading democracy, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t improvements to be made. By modernizing registration, ending government dysfunction, and combating Citizens United, we can put the people back in charge of our democracy.
Obama and Romney won't agree on much in tonight's debate. But ending government dysfunction by fixing the filibuster is an idea both candidates should embrace.
