Perhaps the most fundamental role of Congress as an institution is legislating, but passing legislation in a highly polarized environment is very difficult. The filibuster is one of the primary obstacles in the legislative process. What is the filibuster, how is it used today, what changes could be made to it, and should we make them? Also, in the lecture, I note that Congress is widely disliked — so then why do its members almost always get re-elected?
