The Martha's Vineyard Times Time to end the filibuster To the Editor: We believe now is the time to end the filibuster. Our Oak Bluffs Democratic Town Committee members believe that the filibuster is an age-old relic of our nation’s pro-slavery and Jim Crow past. It has been used to obstruct every piece of civil rights legislation that has gone forward. The filibuster was originally used by former South Carolina Senator John Calhoun with the intent of empowering the planter class and blocking progress on ending slavery. The framers never intended the filibuster to be in the Constitution, nor is the filibuster part of a constitutional amendment.