On the Fourth of July, we often invoke the founders, reflecting on their vision for America and how we might carry it forward into the future toward a more-perfect union. On this Independence Day, however, America must look in the mirror and acknowledge the recalcitrant structures that impede that progress for the sake of petty politics. Congressional Republican leadersâ wielding of the filibuster has turned the Senate into the sort of institution that likely would make the founders spin in their graves. A tactic used sparingly in the 19th and early 20th centuries to require a supermajority for measures to pass the upper house is now Republicansâ go-to wrench to throw into the gears of democracy.