Today's filibuster update
In two parts. First, a useful Wikipedia chart showing how recent and a-historical the current Senate practice of filibusters for everything really is. The blue line, on the top, is the significant one: it is a gauge of how often bills or nominations were subjected to the need for a "supermajority" vote, rather than a regular Constitutional majority. The goldish line, on the bottom, indicates how often the supermajority prevailed -- how often they "broke the filibuster." As a reminder, there is nothing in the Constitution about this practice. (Supermajorities for certain situations, like impeachment or ratifying treaties or passing Constitutional Amendments, yes; as a general practice, no.) Click on graph for larger view.
