Hank Johnson: Filibuster ‘A Relic of the Racist Past’ and ‘No Longer Effective in Advancing the Just Will of a Minority’

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Ayman Mohyeldin Reports,” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) argued that “the filibuster, which is a relic of the racist past of this nation, is no longer effective in advancing the just will of a minority.”

Johnson stated, “Well, that entire filibuster is hurting efforts on so many fronts. But certainly, on constitutional issues, such as the right to vote, there needs to be a modification of the filibuster to exclude those kinds of issues from the filibuster. But in my opinion, the filibuster, which is a relic of the racist past of this nation, is no longer effective in advancing the just will of a minority. It is being used to stifle and stop legislation that benefits the majority, particularly on critical issues like voting rights. And so, the 60-vote majority is hurting our democracy at this point. It’s just a mere rule of Senate procedure, and it certainly has no comparison to the right to vote. So, it needs to go by the wayside, like so many other archaic traditions that people cling to in this country that are no longer advancing what is right and just for our society.”

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