Dear Editor,

Julia Cornacchia’s June 9th letter (‘The filibuster is racist and needs to go’) about the filibuster being racist contains some inaccuracies, as well as some valid points.

First, it is not “a Jim Crow relic” since it was first used in 1837, some sixty-odd years before the advent of Jim Crow legislation.

Secondly, saying that “it’s been a weapon wielded by segregationists and white supremacists” while true ignores the fact that both former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden also used the filibuster when they were in the Senate.

Furthermore, in 2020, Senate Democrats used the filibuster 327 times; Senate Republicans, once.

But suddenly, when Republicans threaten to use it in 2021, the inference is that they’re segregationists and white supremacists.

There are good arguments both for and against the filibuster. Making it solely into a racial issue is not one of them.

Sincerely,

Chuck Rivetto

Orion Twp.