Political Parties and American Democracy Mini-Conference II: Author Meets Critics: “Filibustered!” by Senator Jeff Merkley & Mike Zamore

Session Submission Type: Author meet critics

Part of Mini-Conference

• Political Parties and American Democracy Mini-Conference II

Session Description

This panel will focus on the book “Filibustered! How to Fix the Broken Senate and Save America” by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and his former Chief of Staff Mike Zamore. The panel will be chaired by Carlos Algara (Claremont Graduate University) and include Sarah Binder (Brookings & George Washington University), Greg Koger (University of Miami), Wendy Schiller (Brown University), and Steve Smith (Arizona State University).

Proponents of filibuster reform argue that the explosion of filibustering in the U.S. Senate over the last 15 years has created crippling Congressional gridlock and contributed to Americans’ declining faith in democracy. Using the growth of the legislative filibuster at a critical moment for American democracy, Senator Jeff Merkley and Mike Zamore in “Filbustered!” argue that the contemporary Senate is a far cry from the deliberative legislature envisioned by the founders and is an institution crippled by dysfunctional inaction on popular legislation.

In the book, the authors provide a powerful firsthand account on the paralyzing gridlock found in the contemporary U.S. Senate brought by the increased use of the legislative filibuster by the minority party. Drawing on their experiences and a vast array of historical research, the authors take us behind the scenes to show how the filibuster cripples the lawmaking capacity of the Senate and what reforms can be taken to restore the “world’s greatest deliberative body.” More historically, the book also provides a comprehensive account from the first filibuster of 1841, through the filibusters of Civil Rights legislation by Southern Dixiecrats, through the present-day use of the “no-talk" filibuster as a minority party veto on legislation, much of which is strongly supported by the public. Through a comprehensive account of the history of the filibuster and suggestions of reform, the authors provide a framework of how the Senate can return to the deliberative body as envisioned by the founders.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsor

• Division 22: Legislative Studies

Chair

• Carlos Algara Claremont Graduate University

Presenters

• Sarah Binder GWU / Brookings Institution

• Gregory Koger University of Miami

• Wendy J. Schiller Brown University

• Steven S. Smith Arizona State University