McConnell Defends the Filibuster

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) defends the legislative filibuster in the New York Times:

“A Democratic assault on the legislative filibuster would make the nomination fights look like child’s play… The legislative filibuster is directly downstream from our founding tradition. If that tradition frustrates the whims of those on the far left, it is their half-baked proposals and not the centuries-old wisdom that need retooling.”

“My Republican colleagues and I have not and will not vandalize this core tradition for short-term gain. We recognize what everyone should recognize — there are no permanent victories in politics… If future Democrats shortsightedly decide to reduce the Senate to majority rule, we’ll have lost a key safeguard of American government. And — stop me if you’ve heard this one — they’d regret it a lot sooner than they think.”