The Globe’s laudable condemnation of the US Senate filibuster concludes with a disappointing whimper of a suggestion that the rule be limited and a more laughable one that senators change their behavior (“Fixing the US Senate,” Editorial, March 25). The filibuster is not a provision of the Constitution but a rule of the Senate that can be changed by a simple majority. Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” aside, I am hard-pressed to think of anything achieved by the filibuster but the delay for a century of full civil rights for all Americans.
Not just some, but all senators are responsible for the filibuster’s continued existence. Their primary concern seems to be not the wishes of a majority of voters, but their ability to protect their donors and special interests when they are in the minority.
Brian R. Merrick
West Barnstable
MonkfishOnCape 