The Filibuster Rule is Nonsensical and Anti-democratic;

Honest Senators Would Vote Immediately to Abolish It.

In principle, the filibuster rule allows 40 senators representing the 20 smallest-population states to block legislation advanced by 60 senators representing the 30 states with the largest populations.

What this means is that it is possible for senators representing 29 million people to block totally legislation being advanced by senators representing 300 million people.  This is clearly absurd.

Admittedly, in practice, some of the smallest states – about four – can favor progressive legislation, and some of the larger states will vote regressively.  But overall, the smaller population states tend to vote as a block, and although in specific instances those trying to block the passage of a bill may not represent as little as 10% of the population, the lopsided obstructionist power of small-population states is much more stark than the 60 to 40 voting ratio needed for cloture might incline one to expect.

It is sobering to realize that even if it functioned on the basis of a simple majority vote, senators representing approximately 50 million people could veto legislation being advanced by senators representing 275 million people.  Eventually, the Senate itself will have to be abolished if the country is going to meet the challenges of correcting economic inequality, insuring the equal rights of all citizens, and saving the ecosystem.  But in the meantime, any senator who opposes ending the filibuster will reveal him/herself to be against the very idea of democratic self-governance.

We were taught in grammar school that in our democracy the rights of the minority are protected against the “tyranny of the majority.”  But in reality we are being imprisoned by a tyranny of the minority.

(Population figures based on 2020 estimates given in Wikipedia)