Following a rule change in the 1970s, the minority is now incentivized to use the filibuster more frequently.
In this episode of Civitas Conversations, Richard Reinsch speaks with Joseph Postell, an expert in Congress and administrative law, about the future of the filibuster and the deeper institutional challenges facing the U.S. Senate.
Drawing on Postell’s Civitas Outlook essay, “Why Can’t We Have a Filibuster?”, the conversation explores how the Senate moved from dramatic, “talking” filibusters—where senators held the floor for hours—to today’s low-cost, procedural obstruction that effectively imposes a 60-vote threshold on nearly all legislation.
Civitas Conversations features leading scholars, commentators, and thought leaders for in-depth discussions of the latest essays in Civitas Outlook—and the ideas behind them. A production of the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.
Civitas Conversations
Why We Can't Go Creedal to Grave
We're going to need the American creed to help us repel both progressive and multiculturalist ideologies that threaten to undermine the American nation.

Colorado's Latest Secularist Gambit
Tal Fortgang discusses Colorado's apparent hostility toward religious groups.


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