The main issue right now is that the Republicans in the senate are trying to pursue a strategy of obstructionism to make the government function as poorly as po

The main issue right now is that the Republicans in the senate are trying to pursue a strategy of obstructionism to make the government function as poorly as possible and make the Democrats fight for every vote. This isn't how the senate typically works. Filibusters tend to be fairly rare in normal times, and the minority party has used them more as a bargaining chip. I hope that eventually the Republicans just abandon their current strategy and start working with the Democrats. I was absolutely floored when they decided to filibuster an Afghanistan spending bill to try to throw the government in crisis (and even more floored that people like John McCain went along with it). But I also am firmly convinced that the Filibuster in some form should stick around. When people negotiate in good faith, then it's an important check on the power of the majority.