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In a compelling and powerfully argued book, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and his longtime chief of staff tell the insiders’ story of how the Senate used to work and how the filibuster came to cripple the self-styled “world’s greatest deliberative body” with paralyzing gridlock. And they make the surprising case that restoring a modified version of the old-style, talking filibuster may just be our democracy’s path back from the brink.
Filibustered! How to Fix the Broken Senate and Save America combines a marvelous romp through key moments in filibuster history—from the first filibuster in 1841, through southern “Dixiecrat” filibusters of civil rights legislation, up through Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) transformation of the filibuster into a routine tool of perennial gridlock—with firsthand accounts of recent high-profile legislative fights and a compelling argument that the key to the Senate’s future may be found in its past.
Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion of the filibuster with Sen. Jeff Merkley and Mike Zamore, co-authors of Filibustered! How to Fix the Broken Senate and Save America.
The discussion will run from 3:30-4:30 p.m. A reception will follow from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Copies of the book will be for sale at the event, and the authors will be available to sign during the reception.
January 10, 2024
Center for American Progress
1333 H Street, NW
Washington DC 20005
3:30 - 5:30 PM EST
Closed-captioned-enabled video will be posted following the conclusion of the event.
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