Dems About to Pass the Filibuster Barrier, But Why Should Having 60 Votes Matter?

The Electoral College is provided for in the United States Constitution. The filibuster is not. In fact, the word doesn't appear in any of our founding documents. Its derivation is from the Spanish filibustero, meaning "pirate" or "freebooter." In the legislative context, a filibuster is the use of delaying tactics to block legislation. It is a mechanism available only in the Senate. As political scientist Jean Edward Smith has pointed out, "It is now possible for the senators representing 34 million people who live in the 21 least populous states - a little more than 11 percent of the nation's population - to nullify the wishes of the representatives of the remaining 88% of Americans."

The right to extended debate came about quite by accident. In 1789, the first U.S. Senate adopted rules allowing the body to "move the previous question," thereby ending debate and proceeding to a vote. In 1806, outgoing Vice President Aaron Burr argued that the previous question motion had been used so sparingly up to then that it should be eliminated. The Senate agreed, and so the potential for a filibuster came into being. Without a previous question motion, the Senate left itself with no way to limit debate short of gaining unanimous consent.