Kill the Switch/Filibuster

Why can’t we pass gun control legislation even after a horrific mass shooting? Why couldn’t Congress pass any civil rights legislation for 82 years after Reconstruction? What could prevent us from reversing the anti-democratic, anti-voting legislation coming from states like Georgia?

The filibuster.

But isn’t the filibuster a central part of the founder’s vision for our country? Doesn’t the filibuster protect minority rights? And doesn’t the filibuster encourage bipartisan legislating?

No. No. And not even close. 

The modern filibuster is the result of more than two centuries of work by those who stood—and stand—in the way of equality, progress, and fairness. It is now a kill switch that allows a minority of the Senate, representing a minority of voters, to repeatedly block needed—and popular—legislation.

This drove Adam Jentleson, Sen. Harry Reid’s former Deputy Chief of Staff, to write Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy. The book is a history of the intertwining narratives and bad faith actors that delivered the Senate to its current anti-democratic condition.

Join the Arizona State, UC Berkeley, West Virginia, and University of Arizona Law ACS Student Chapters, the Political & Election Empowerment Project, Green Apple Books, the WVU Labor Law Society, the National Lawyers Guild, and Manny’s in San Francisco as we welcome ACS President Russ Feingold and Adam Jentelson, for a discussion about his book and the filibuster. This event is going to be moderated by Spencer Pahlke and Amanda Sadra. There will also be Q&A session following the discussion.

To receive the Zoom invitation, please RSVP here.