The majority calls the shots in the United States; 50 percent plus one vote gets you what you want. Well, usually.
But not in the U.S. Senate, where 41 of 100 senators is all it takes to block a piece of legislation, thanks to the filibuster rule. It is not built into the Constitution and it was not a part of the original formation of the Senate.
And Adam Jentleson says it needs to be dispensed with. Jentleson worked for former Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid and watched the Senate function (or not) up close; he is the author of Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.
Adam Jentleson gives us a peek inside the workings of the Senate.