In an op-ed authored by Ross Douthat the New York Times suggested changing the filibuster threshold from 60 votes to 55 votes. As the letter pointed out - The filibuster gives
individual senators, and the causes that lack support of the majority, a voice they otherwise wouldn’t have. Because overcoming a filibuster requires a large consensus, causes cannot simply be steamrolled.
The concerns of individual senators, or groups of senators, must be given both credence and credibility. Voices and causes that would otherwise be ignored in a majoritarian body like the House receive consideration in the Senate – but only because the filibuster, or threat thereof, makes them matter.
The filibuster, in other words, amplifies otherwise voiceless causes and makes certain that they are taken seriously. From our perspective here at CHQ the principled limited government constitutional conservatives of the Conservative Action Project could have gone a step further and pointed out that the push to end the filibuster is just another example of Democrats demanding that the rules be changed when they don't get their way.
The text of the letter follows:
June 18, 2021
To the Editor:
Re “How Joe Manchin Can Fix The Filibuster,” by Ross Douthat
(Opinion essay, June 12):
We write today to express our profound disagreement with a recent argument by opinion columnist Ross Douthat that the Senate should reduce its voting threshold for the legislative filibuster from 60 to 55.
Douthat’s argument fundamentally misunderstands the role of the filibuster and the nature of the Senate. While the filibuster is frequently cast as a purely obstructive measure, it is inherently one designed to compel consensus and the inclusion of minority voices.
Ending a filibuster – that is, getting to 60 votes in the Senate – requires consensus. It forces the parties to work together, to engage in negotiation, and to perform the give-and-take of legislating. This deliberation is what distinguishes the Senate from the House, where the majority has the full authority to crush the minority, and frequently does.
As Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has correctly pointed out, “The U.S. Senate is the most deliberative body in the world. It was made so that we work together in a bipartisan way. If you get rid of the filibuster, there’s no reason to have a Senate.”
The filibuster gives individual senators, and the causes that lack support of the majority, a voice they otherwise wouldn’t have. Because overcoming a filibuster requires a large consensus, causes cannot simply be steamrolled.
The concerns of individual senators, or groups of senators, must be given both credence and credibility. Voices and causes that would otherwise be ignored in a majoritarian body like the House receive consideration in the Senate – but only because the filibuster, or threat thereof, makes them matter.
The filibuster, in other words, amplifies otherwise voiceless causes and makes certain that they are taken seriously. For conservatives, as well as the far left of the Democratic Party, who are generally always in the minority even when their party is in the majority, the filibuster is a powerful tool.
Douthat suggests that reducing the threshold for the filibuster could “work against polarization and toward consensus” and offer opportunities “to actually govern once again.” The opposite would in fact occur.
Absent the filibuster, polarization will only increase. The filibuster exists to ensure minority voices are heard. Without it, the voices don’t magically disappear, they just turn toward other opportunities for leverage. The process of unanimous consent, which greases the wheels of the Senate’s day-to-day function, will disappear. As has happened in the absence of the judicial and nominations filibuster, cloture votes will be required for every single debatable measure the Senate wants to pass, turning a weeks-long process into one of months. Rather than free the Senate, a filibuster-less Senate will become even more degraded.
We echo Douthat’s concern that the modern Senate is often trapped in the gridlock of partisan politics. But allowing more participants in the process, rather than fewer, is the way to solve that problem. Senate leaders of both parties should allow for robust consideration of amendments and procedural maneuvers designed to bring the concerns of American voters to the floor of the Senate. This is what our politics are for: to litigate, consider, deliberate, and ultimately, to vote, on matters of consequence.
In the Senates of years past, leaders that have allowed for robust debate and ample consideration of amendments have found themselves facing far fewer filibusters. Senators, just like the rest of us, respond favorably – and far less obstructively – when their voices are heard and considered in the legislative process.
For this reason, we hear Mr. Douthat’s opinion, and respectfully dissent.
The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988)
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
President, Republic Book Publishers
Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq.
Chairman, CNP Action, Inc.
President and CEO, First Liberty Institute
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop
White House Advisor
President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985)
Jenny Beth Martin
Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund
Thomas E. McClusky
President
March for Life Action
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
The Honorable David McIntosh
President
Club for Growth
Mary Vought
Executive Director
Senate Conservatives Fund
William L. Walton
President
Council for National Policy
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Chief Domestic Advisor
President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988)
David Bozell
President
ForAmerica
The Honorable Jim DeMint
Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute
Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013)
The Honorable Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Ed Corrigan
Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project and President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.)
Executive Vice President
Family Research Council
David N. Bossie
President
Citizens United
J. Christian Adams
President
Public Interest Legal Foundation
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Heather R. Higgins
CEO
Independent Women's Voice
Lewis K. Uhler
Founder and President
National Tax Limitation Committee
The Honorable Stephen Stockman
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Texas
Kielle C. Horton
President
The Lindsey Foundation
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Eunie Smith
President Emeritus
Eagle Forum
Martha Boneta
President
Vote America First
Dr. E. Calvin Beisner
Founder, President, and National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
The Honorable Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness
Joan Holt Lindsey
President
Lindsey Communications
Floyd Brown
Founder
The Western Journal
Judson Phillips
Founder
Tea Party Nation
Robert K. Fischer
Meeting Coordinator
Conservatives of Faith
Ron Pearson
Executive Director
Conservative Victory Fund
William W. Pascoe, III
Our Man in Washington
Tea Party Patriots Action
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell
President
The Leadership Institute
Kevin Roberts, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Scott T. Parkinson
VP for Government Affairs
Club for Growth
Terry Schilling
Executive Director
American Principles Project
The Honorable Brooke Rollins
President and CEO
America First Policy Institute (AFPI)
The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel
U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985)
U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989)
Tom Jones
Co-Founder
American Accountability Foundation
Wesley Denton
Chief Operating Officer
Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.
Rachel A. Bovard
Senior Director of Policy
Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
Ralph A. Rebandt II
Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate
Ralph Rebandt for Governor
Jon Schweppe
Director of Policy and Government Affairs, American Principles Project
Carrie Lukas
President
Independent Women's Forum
Jennifer C. Braceras
Director
Independent Women's Law Center
Ralph Benko
Chairman
The Capitalist League
Chad Connelly
President
Faith Wins
Kevin Freeman
Founder
NSIC Institute
Lee Beaman
CEO
Beaman Ventures
Andresen Blom
President
Hawaiian Values
Jack Park
Conservative Activist and Donor
Law Offices of Jack Park
Dr. Teryn Clarke
Neurologist
Clarke Neurology
Peggy Dau
Representative
IranAliveMinistries
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association
Mario Navarro da Costa
Director, Washington Bureau
Tradition, Family, Property
Gary Marx
President
Madison Strategies
Penna Dexter
Co-host
Point of View Radio
The Honorable Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
E.W. Jackson Sr
President
STAND Foundation, Inc.
Dr. Richard Rounsavelle
Trustee
MRC
Melvin Adams
President
Noah Webster Educational Foundation
filibuster
senate
New York Times
Ross Douthat
55 vote threshold
60 to 55 votes
Sen. Joe Manchin
consensus
polarization
cloture