Filibusted: Getting to the Truth About What's Wrong with the US Senate

The DSR Network

Chris Cotnoir

Government

4.5 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Senate "institutionalists" claim the filibuster is a traditional US Senate tool that produces compromise. Nope. It's a tool that was almost never used during the first 200 years of US history. And when it was used it was almost always used to promote a racist agenda. And now that it is used more often, it is used to obstruct and give disproportionate power to Republicans. The first step to eliminating it is understanding it and that is why we talk to veteran Senate staffer Adam Jentleson, author of an important new book "Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy." We discuss what has turned the U.S. Senate from "the world's greatest deliberative body to the place legislation goes to die" and how to fix it. Don't miss this timely conversation. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love this podcast.
0:02.0	Support this show through the A-Cast supporter feature.
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0:07.0	and there's no regular commitment.
0:09.0	Just click the link in the show description to support now. 9. 12. 28. 10 28 to 23.
0:27.0	23.
0:30.0	This is Deep State Radio.
0:33.0	Coming to you direct from our super secret studio in the third sub-basement of the Ministry of
0:39.3	Snark in Washington, D.C. and from other undisclosed locations across America and around the world.
0:47.0	Hello and welcome to a special edition of Deep State Radio.
0:50.0	I am your host David Rothkoff and we are joined today by Adam Gentleson who's Public Affairs Director at Democracy Forward.
0:58.0	Prior to joining Democracy Forward, he was Deputy Chief of Staff to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and became in this job very steeped in the ways of the Senate.
1:11.0	This has led to a new book, brilliantly timed, called Kil Switch, the rise of the modern Senate and the crippling of American democracy from W. W. Norton, a book that has gotten terrific reviews.
1:24.5	Congratulations on the book, Adam.
1:26.8	Thank you, David.
1:27.4	Thank you for having me.
1:29.1	Well, I'm glad to have you for the book.
1:31.9	I have followed many of your wise comments on Twitter for a long time.
1:37.2	And frankly I'm also glad to have you because you're a kindred spirit on views towards the kind of reforms the Senate needs.
1:47.6	And maybe we can start with that and the book in one swoop and say, why did you spend the past couple of years writing this book?
1:55.0	Well, you know, I think what motivated me to do it, I talk about this in the book, it opens with this episode.
2:02.0	I think the turning point for me was the mention to me background checks debate and defeat in 2013.
	...

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