Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of attempting to abolish the filibuster when they held power. The truth is that the filibuster is merely a Senate procedure to shut off debate that has existed since 1917. The abolition of the filibuster is a bad idea that will destroy the Senate’s nature and make the government less responsive than it is today (if that is even possible).

The filibuster is a procedural, not a policy, matter. It extends the debate and allows all 100 members of the body to participate. Getting rid of the power of individual senators to engage in extended debate would make the Senate look more like the House, where all power resides in the speaker’s office.

The filibuster rule was memorialized in Rule 22 of the Senate’s Rules of Procedure. That rule allows 16 senat

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