It's time to bring back the real filibuster...

Republicans have decided to become the party of 'No'... which I guess is their right, but it would be nice to think that they might want to let the country move forward without knee-jerk obstructionism.

It frustrates me that it is now do damn easy and painless for them to block progress.

The filibuster is probably a good thing (allowing the minority to occasionally stop things that they really oppose).... but the filibuster should have a cost again.

The filibuster was originally a floor fight where the minority would block the vote by refusing to give up the floor. They were messy and contentious, as it should be considering that the tactic is designed to defy the will of the elected majority. The polite little vote before moving on makes this too trivial and subverts the way the system should work.

If the Republicans in the Senate want to block progress, let them have the guts to stand up and say they are blocking progress. Let them stand up and talk... and talk... and talk... just like the old days. Let them read phone books and, most of all, let them face the press.

It is a serious thing to block legislation that has support from a majority of our elected officials (as well as a majority of the American public). Anyone who dares to do this should be willing to fact the public and pay the price.

Let's scrap this nice 60-vote thing and say that if you are going to filibuster (and that is what they are doing) than you are really going to filibuster.