FILIBUSTER

The Filibuster



The Filibuster

Introduction

The Parliamentary procedure, in which debate is extended by an individual or minority, is referred to as Filibuster. As a consequence of this Filibuster, a senate member representing the minorities of the country becomes able either to delay, or to prevent the given proposal. It has been common place to use filibuster in the US senate, right from the beginning of the concept; however more recently the concept has become an important issue for the US government, as the majorities are threatened for blocking the legislations, under the pressure of minorities. This paper discusses the origin, history and arguments for and against Filibuster.

Origin of Filibuster

The origin of filibuster is spread over the centuries. The term was originally used for defining someone that wreaks havoc on the people (more commonly, the pirates). By the middle of 19th century, the groups of such people reach the US and West Indies, where they started organized revolutions. These people were started to be known as Filibusters.

During the first half of the 19th century, the senator named as John Randolph was witnessed to be in a habit of making long speeches. The senator was soon became opponent to such non relevant speeches and they voted for authorizing the presiding officer to deal with such problematic situations. However, in 1872 the Vice President stated that the senator cannot be restrained by the presiding officer, from something which seems to be persistent with the senate. Thus, the senate members began to call the senator as a filibuster.

History of Filibuster

Over the past many centuries, Filibuster was used by the obstruction minorities, in order to prevent the bills from passage that were against their benefits. The outlaw status of the concept is even depicted by the word “Filibuster”. It was one of the last-ditch tactics, used to take advantage from the senate rules, according to which unlimited debate was permitted (Smith, 2009). The concept was strictly considered to be against the rules.

It was mainly used for blocking passage of federal anti-lynching legislation. Nearly two dozen filibusters were mounted in the 19th century; the figure includes those who were engaged in the struggle against slavery. The technique was repeated only twice between the years 1933 and the beginning of the war. The pattern remained continued during the periods of Eisenhower and J.F.K.; however only 2 filibusters were mounted under the administration of Eisenhower. The number rose to four under the administration of Kennedy, and the number was even doubled under the administration of Lyndon Johnson. Despite of the continuous use under military, it was considered as off the rules, from the perspective of the civil rights. Finally, the filibusters shed the racist image, during the legislation enactment era of 1960's and 70's. It was the period when major civil rights were brought into the scene and the issue of African-American equality was significantly faded from the major agenda of Senate. As a result, Filibuster was begun to be considered as an acceptable weapon by ...