Filibuster
Should the Senate Filibuster be Abolished?
Sanggalih Kusumo
Political Science 150
Dr. M. Mosleh
10 December 2012
Introduction and statement of research problem:
Filibuster is a term that the senate uses to its advantage and has been abusively used ever since it was made till now. But what exactly does the word filibuster mean? What a filibuster is, it allows a senate to talk for as long as they possibly can so that a bill will not be passed. Senate Strom Thurmond was the one who filibustered a bill all just by talking about the Civil Rights bill for as long as about twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes. Thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster by far. Many of other senates believes and feels that the Senate filibuster should be abolished because of how ridiculous and insane some Senate’s filibusters have been in the past. And how it has been being used abusively just to not pass a bill.
Historical background:
To fully understand what the term filibuster means, knowing the history of it and where it first came from will be a great help. Filibuster is written by Mark Anthony Yost, Jr. and according to him, “the origin of the word appears to be a cross between the English and Dutch for free booty, a term to describe looters who lived on others’ booty and spoils. The Dutch was translated into English as flibutor, and then became freebooter. The word slowly became filibuster and was used in the Senate to describe Senators who had developed techniques for holding up legislation that they were opposed to.” (Filibuster). All that was saying is that basically the term filibuster was coined by mistake. And ever since this mistake coined the term filibuster, senates uses it as an excuse to not pass or move forward a bill. The House and Senate rulebooks, in 1789, were pretty much the same and they both exactly included what is known as the “previous question.” According to The History of the Filibuster by Sarah A. Binder, “ In 1805, Vice President
Sanggalih Kusumo
Political Science 150
Dr. M. Mosleh
10 December 2012
Introduction and statement of research problem:
Filibuster is a term that the senate uses to its advantage and has been abusively used ever since it was made till now. But what exactly does the word filibuster mean? What a filibuster is, it allows a senate to talk for as long as they possibly can so that a bill will not be passed. Senate Strom Thurmond was the one who filibustered a bill all just by talking about the Civil Rights bill for as long as about twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes. Thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster by far. Many of other senates believes and feels that the Senate filibuster should be abolished because of how ridiculous and insane some Senate’s filibusters have been in the past. And how it has been being used abusively just to not pass a bill.
Historical background:
To fully understand what the term filibuster means, knowing the history of it and where it first came from will be a great help. Filibuster is written by Mark Anthony Yost, Jr. and according to him, “the origin of the word appears to be a cross between the English and Dutch for free booty, a term to describe looters who lived on others’ booty and spoils. The Dutch was translated into English as flibutor, and then became freebooter. The word slowly became filibuster and was used in the Senate to describe Senators who had developed techniques for holding up legislation that they were opposed to.” (Filibuster). All that was saying is that basically the term filibuster was coined by mistake. And ever since this mistake coined the term filibuster, senates uses it as an excuse to not pass or move forward a bill. The House and Senate rulebooks, in 1789, were pretty much the same and they both exactly included what is known as the “previous question.” According to The History of the Filibuster by Sarah A. Binder, “ In 1805, Vice President
Cited: Binder, Sarah. "The History of the Filibuster." The Brookings Institution. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. Crane, Mike. "Information Women 's Right To Know And other Right to Life Issues." Ending Filibuster Is Not a Good Idea ... N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. "In Our Opinion: Filibuster Is Important." Salt Lake City and Utah Breaking News, Sports, Entertainment and News Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. "Let 's End the Filibuster." N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. Yost, Mark Anthony Jr. "Filibuster." N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.