Nuke the filibuster, but accept the consequences

In 1948, the proud, sort-of-independent Dominion of Newfoundland had a choice: join up with Canada as the newest province, or remain a separate country. By fewer than 10,000 votes, and along very noticeable regional and religious lines, Newfoundlanders voted to be integrated into another state.

Fast forward a few decades, and it’s la belle province voting to go the other way and become an independent country. The 1980 vote was a rout for opponents of separatism. The 1995 vote was much closer. A 50% + 1 vote, and the country would have been forever changed.

And in the Canadian House of Commons, you don’t need 60% of MPs to vote for your bill to get it passed, but just a simple majority. (Well, it has to pass three times. And then there’s an unelected, rubber-stamp Senate in which the number of seats per province makes absolutely no sense. But you see my point. Maybe.)

That’s why the filibuster debate is one of these American things I don’t really understand, like gun culture and T…