Filibuster 2.0: How 41 Senators Control The Country Without Actually Filibustering

TPM’s historical overview of the Senate filibuster rules, allowing a block-voting, power-at-all-costs opposition party to grind America to an embarrassing standstill. Glad of this, since in the years following my A-Levels I’d forgotten how it worked. (I think my brain rejected the knowledge because it was too stupid to be real.)

In a black-humoured twist to the practice of political hyperbole, people are actually dying because of this. But apparently that’s a cost worth paying if it means the Republicans take back the Presidency and Congressional majorities in 2012. Then they’ll stop being the petulant, trollish “Party of No”, and will instead embrace a true, democratic remit to do absolutely nothing about it. Via: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com.