Graph: Filibuster out-o-control

This graph shows cloture votes in the U.S. Senate, meaning the number of times Senators moved to cut off a filibuster. The giant spike at the end shows the period when Republicans lost the Senate and started filibustering almost every vote of any consequence. When Democrats talk about never having seen anything like the current level of filibustering, this is what they mean. Yes, filibustering is necessarily the last-ditch tool of the minority party, and Democrats have certainly used the filibuster -- including to block President George W. Bush's judicial nominations -- but never on this scale.