An Easy Way to Fix What's Wrong With Washington

Posted by: Joshua Green on May 18, 2012, Busnessweek

Polls show that frustration with Washington has never been higher—and who could argue? Most Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. Most lawmakers openly concede that nothing will get done before the November elections. The leaders of both parties are already trading threats over the possibility of a national debt default next year.

Barack Obama got elected by promising to change the tone in Washington, but clearly he’s failed, as George W. Bush did before him.

That should be a clue that the partisan animosity consuming the political system doesn’t originate in the White House. Although the media will fixate on the presidential campaign, the winner won’t really matter, at least not from the standpoint of making Washington work again. The problem is Congress, specifically the Senate, and to narrow it even further, the filibuster. When invoked—and it’s invoked often—the filibuster forces the majority party to come up with 60 votes, rather than the simple majority ordinarily required to pass legislation.

(More here.)