The failure of the World's Worst Deliberative Body to repeal DADT is obviously appalling. If anything good comes of it, I hope it's that this cures progressives of any lingering attachment they might have to the filibuster. This particular use of the countermajoritarian device is entirely consistent with its history. It protects "minorities" -- but the kind of minorities who are already overrepresented in the political process in ways that almost always work against the minorities who actually need more representation and protection.
And so this represents a classic use of the filibuster. A majority of both houses of Congress, the president, and the American people want to provide more protection to a stigmatized minority. But the filibuster allows a minority of reactionaries to stop them without taking adequate responsibility for its choice. And that's how it's used; it's rarely if ever used to protect disadvantaged minorities. Can there be anybody who cares about progress who hasn't seen enough? The filibuster has no democratic justification. It must be ended as soon as possible.
-- Scott Lemieux
