The Senate Filibuster Talking Democracy to Death Use of the filibuster has been commonplace in the United States Senate since its beginning. However, this long-standing tradition has turned democracy on its head and caused the collapse of majority rule in the Senate. Simply put, a filibuster is an extremely long off-topic speech that is given, normally by the minority, in hopes of staling and blocking a Senate vote on a particular issue. It delays debates …showed first 75 words of 846 total…

…showed last 75 words of 846 total…a battle but leave the democratic process in ruins (Binder 212). Filibustering is a major flaw in the democratic process that must be solved by banning it in the Senate. Bibliography Binder, Sarah. Politics or Principle? Filibustering in the United States Senate. Brookings Press, 1996. New York. Richardson, Elliot L. The Case Against the Senate Filibuster. www.igc.org/cvd/reports/`995/chp6/richardson.html Wolpe, Bruce C. Lobby Congress: How the System Works. Congressional Quarterly, 1990. Washington DC.