Abolish the Filibuster

WHEREAS the Constitution doesn’t require a supermajority for passage of legislation and, in fact, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton specifically argued for simple majority rule in Federalists 10, 22, and 58; and 

WHEREAS the genesis of the modern-day filibuster was the work of John C. Calhoun, infamous slaveholding vice president and senator in the 1840s and was utilized and enhanced during the Jim Crow era by legislators bent on denying minorities and, in particular African American citizens, their voting rights, up to today where it is used to essentially require a 60 percent majority to pass legislation in the U.S. Senate; and

 WHEREAS the urgent needs the American people want to see addressed in the 117th Congress, such as the reestablishment of voting rights for all citizens, a livable wage for all American workers, sensible gun legislation, affordable quality healthcare for all, effective greenhouse gas reductions, and more will require the abolition of the filibuster;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the Riverside County Democratic party strenuously urges all Democratic Senators to vote to end the filibuster, a parliamentary procedure which makes the Senate less productive and less democratic during one of our nation’s greatest times of need; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED  that the Riverside County Democratic Party will send a copy of this resolution to California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla.

Submitted by: Connie Sullivan, AD 66  and Sergio Carillo, AD 70

Authored by: Connie Sullivan, AD 66  and Sergio Carillo, AD 70

Passed by the Riverside County Democratic Party 3/29/2021