Why We're Polarized

by Ezra Klein

“In 1805, Aaron Burr has just killed Alexander Hamilton,” Binder told me. “He comes back to the Senate and gives his farewell address. Burr basically says that you are a great body. You are conscientious and wise, you do not give in to the whims of passion. But your rules are a mess. And he goes through the rulebook pointing out duplicates and things that are unclear.”23 This is, it’s worth saying, a famous speech. It’s recorded that Burr, not always known as a great speaker and fresh from murdering another major politician in a duel, literally brought members of the Senate to tears in the delivery. It’s easy to inspire when you’re telling people how great they are and how magnificent their legacies will be when given history’s due consideration. One of Burr’s suggestions was to cut the “previous question motion,” so they did, apparently without realizing that they just made it impossible to cut off debate. “We say the Senate developed the filibuster to protect minorities and the right to debate,” says Binder. “That’s hogwash! It’s a mistake. Believe me, I would’ve loved to find the smoking gun where the Senate decides to create a deliberative body. But it takes years before anyone figures out that the filibuster has just been created.”