Season 2, Episode 4 (Show 56): Debate Debate

January 26, 2022

The Senate spent 13 hours debating voting rights bills, and more fundamentally, debating whether the world’s greatest deliberative body would restore debate to its halls.  Listen to excerpts and our commentary as the Senate considers eliminating or modifying the filibuster.

Amidst a host of state-level voting law initiatives, the Senate considers voting rights bills.  Without 60 votes on hand, the Democrats have proposed extending the “nuclear option” to some or all legislation; this past week, they debated and voted on it.  We have digested the 13 hours of debate and play for you relevant clips, with Professor Amar weighing in on who has the history and/or the Constitution right, and who is playing with facts and founders.  A potpourri of Senators, from Leaders McConnell and Schumer, to recent Presidential candidate Klobuchar, and numerous others, weigh in and debate on whether or not the Senate shall, in fact, debate.  

Show Notes:

The Senate and The Constitution - Vikram D. Amar

Yale Law Journal, 97 Yale LJ 1111 (1988).  Vik Amar’s student note at Yale Law School, a wide-ranging look at the Senate’s role as constitutional actor, from the vision of the founders to the present.

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The Federalist No. 62

James Madison, Federalist No. 62.  Discussed by Senator Thune who purported to show that this work supported the notion of a Senate that would require a filibuster to fulfill its envisioned constitutional role.  Professor Amar analyzes this work to test that view.

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The Federalist No. 22

Alexander Hamilton as Publius in Federalist No. 22.  Senator (Majority Leader) Schumer references Hamilton’s view of the Senate in his argument that the founders “never” advocated for a supermajority requirement in the Senate.  This is the Federalist Paper he has in mind.  Professor Amar analyzes these claims as he reviews this work.

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Thomas Jefferson, Senate Manual of Parliamentary Practice

As Vice President in the Adams Administration, and therefore presiding office of the Senate, Thomas Jefferson promulgated this manual of Senate practice.  Passages particularly relevant to our discussion can be found on pages 175 (“no one is to speak impertinently…”) and 266 (“the voice of the majority…”).

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Link to Fox News political cartoon ridiculing Senator Klobuchar

Republicans devoted a lot of energy during the Senate debate attempting to portray Democratic Senators as flip-floppers by describing a letter signed by 28 Democratic Senators in a prior administration, advocating preservation of unlimited debate in the Senate.  Democrats, for their part, insisted that they were not attempting to eliminate debate, but only the filibuster which prevents calling a vote, presumably after debate had been exhausted.  The Republicans’ political position is summarized in this cartoon which derisively portrays Senator Klobuchar in what they considered to be an unfavorable light.  It can be found at https://www.instagram.com/p/CZE852zNWxd/ among other sites.