A Purple Victory!

Last night, fourteen smart moderate members of the US Senate got into a room and made a courageous decision that is good for both the civility of the Senate and the entire country.

Of course, I am talking about the preservation of extended debate, a.k.a. the filibuster (the elimination of which too many people in the ten-mile square reality free zone that is our nation's capitol are referring to as though it had anything to do with particle physics).

Why is the filibuster important? Why should anyone care?

The filibuster is one of the many devices written into our system of government that protect minority opinion from the winds of the current popular opinion. It is a check and balance that makes the institution of fundamental change a very hard thing to do.

Changing the status quo should be hard. The framers of our government recognized this, and the systems of checks and balances salted throughout our federal system reflect it.

Today I say BRAVO to the seven Republicans and seven Democrats who looked beyond party lines to forge an agreement here. It is just too bad that Montana's Senators were not among those fourteen.