The filibuster isn't just absent from the Constitution--it's blatantly unconstitutional. Here's why:

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2. yeah, it's a great rant, and i agree that the filibuster runs counter to the founders' intent,

but i'm not impressed with his constitutional analysis.

the constitution gives the senate the power to create its own rules, and the supreme court has been very loathe to step into the inner workings of the houses of congress. and if any supreme court might ever strike down the filibuster as unconstitutional, *this* court is certainly not the one that will do it.

beyond that, a filibuster is not just one specific rule. yes, we've all been focusing on the one specific 60 vote cloture rule when we talk about "the" filibuster, but a filibuster is a more general concept of any delaying or obstructing tactic, and such things have been around for centuries. millennia, in fact. it's almost impossible to create reasonable rules for a legislative body without creating some mechanism that a minority group could use as a filibuster, and any filibuster essentially gives power to a minority group to block, or at least delay, majority rule.

so yeah. the filibuster sucks, republicans have abused it relentlessly, and democrats should kill it altogether, but we lack the ability to do that because of a few holdouts.