Politics > 2026 Elections

Kill the Filibuster—or Make Them Talk

A Senate rule never mentioned in the Constitution now allows a minority to block election safeguards supported by most Americans.

Brian C. Joondeph | May 11, 2026

Six words: Power unused is power surrendered.

That’s the reality Senate Republicans now face.

With a narrow majority and a nation increasingly concerned about election integrity, Republicans face a choice: act decisively or allow procedural relics to dictate policy outcomes. At the heart of this dilemma is the filibuster — not a constitutional safeguard, not a sacred institution, but a Senate rule that has evolved into a minority veto.

And in its current form, it’s not even honest.

Today’s filibuster is a shadow of its former self. Senators no longer need to stand on the floor, speak for hours, or defend their obstruction before the American people. Instead, they merely signal an intent to filibuster, and legislation effectively dies unless 60 votes can be mustered for cloture. No speeches. No effort. No accountability.

That’s not deliberation. That’s abdication.

The filibuster is often spoken of in reverent tones, as if it were handed down alongside the Constitution. It wasn’t.

The Constitution is silent on the filibuster. The Framers explicitly set supermajority requirements in limited circumstances—treaties, impeachments, and constitutional amendments—but ordinary legislation was to pass by a majority vote. 

The idea was simple. As former President Barack Obama reminded us in 2014, “Elections have consequences.”

The filibuster emerged almost by accident. In 1806, the Senate removed a rule that allowed a simple majority to cut off debate, assuming it would rarely be needed. Over time, that omission was exploited, and the filibuster was born—not by design, but by procedural drift.

It wasn’t until 1917 that the Senate adopted the cloture rule, allowing debate to be ended by a supermajority—initially two-thirds, later reduced to three-fifths (60 votes) in 1975. Even then, the filibuster required effort. Senators had to hold the floor, speak continuously, and sustain their objection.

That changed in the modern era. The “silent filibuster” transformed........

© American Thinker