Sen. Joe Manchin, the only statewide elected Democrat in West Virginia, has been called an “upholder of white supremacy” and has been compared to segregationists for his refusal to abolish the filibuster.
Along with Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Manchin is confronted by reporters about his support of the filibuster on an almost daily basis. The fight over the filibuster, however, is just one episode in a much broader battle over the institution of the Senate itself. Much of the progressive movement sees the Senate as an antique, undemocratic institution holding the government back from accomplishing anything. Liberals point to the rest of the world, especially Europe, as places where government heads take smaller roles, letting parliaments take the lead.
Take it from a European: The messy and old American system is actually pretty good.
First, European government heads are actually quite powerful. In fact, the United States president is pretty weak compared to the leaders of many parliamentary systems. While in both the U.S. and Europe, the heads of government have considerable influence over the legislators of their parties, this influence is exaggerated in parliamentary systems because candidate selection is controlled, not by a primary voting citizenry as in the U.S., but by the party itself.
In Germany, for example, it’s normal to see headlines that say, “Cabinet approves law X.” That’s essentially the last thing we will hear about a bill before it becomes law. As long as the party leaders in the Cabinet agree on something, the passage in Parliament is virtually guaranteed. The U.S. president doesn’t have that power over the legislators. That’s mainly due to two features of the Senate that progressives dislike so much: equal representation per state and the filibuster.
Blue-state Republicans, red-state Democrats, or centrist politicians from purple states — all these phenomena are nearly impossible in Europe.
And then there’s the filibuster. Requiring a 60-vote majority for most legislation, the filibuster gives the minority the ability to block the ruling party from steamrolling its bills into law. That’s why President Joe Biden, even with unified control of the government, is less powerful than other world leaders. In Europe, for example, the leader of the opposition is often reduced to a mere spokesperson who cannot meaningfully challenge government policy.
Even if highly partisan, Congress is more effective at constraining the president’s political power and that of his party leadership than parliaments in other countries. And while some European nations might provoke liberals to cheer their get-it-done governments, they should keep in mind that a similar system allows Hungarian right-wing politicians like Viktor Orban, viewed by many as an autocrat, to rule largely unrestrained.
Sebastian Thormann is a Young Voices contributor, a student at the University of Passau in Germany, and a columnist at the Lone Conservative in the U.S. He has also written for the National Interest, the Washington Examiner, CapX, and Townhall.com.
