I wonder if the "talking filibuster" would have so many defenders if "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" had never been made.
I mean, if we take away the nostalgic shine of a classic movie, is there any good reason to prefer a talking filibuster over no filibuster at all? Don't get me wrong, a talking filibuster is a little better than a lets-block-anything-with-no-effort filibuster. But someone should try to make a coherent defense of having a filibuster at all before working on some halfway filibuster reform.
