"The Senate is the saucer the cooled the tea." George Washington

[existentialist]

George was explaining his understanding of the function of the Senate to Thomas Jefferson.

His reasoning is supported by other language in The Federalist Papers and elsewhere too.

Having held the Senate this line now holds a double sweetness. It is solid evidence of the founder's intention of the creation of the Senate precisely to put the brakes on hasty and ill-considered legislation that was expected to be pushed from time to time by the House of Representatives.

This being so, this is precisely what we need from the Senate now.

And the specific reference to tea as a metaphor makes it sweet indeed.

Anyone who argues against this interpretation abandons serious argument that they are seeking constitutional government as the founders intended.

[whyverne]

1. True, but the Senate was appointed at that time.

The founders had a healthy mistrust of democracy. Would you run your business on popular opinion?

[existentialist]

2. Yes, the Senate was appointted at the time, but

part of the founder's intent is also indicated by the 6 year terms as ooposed to the 2 two terms for the House of Representatives, and the tradition of the Senate as the more deliberative body also lives on in the Senate Rules which allow for more procedural delays.

These delays have, of course, been badly abused by Republicans of late. This kind of puts both parties in a bind for critisizing the other parties' use of said rules, but the Senate Rules remain, and they remain as a reminder of original constitutional intentions.

[Abq_Sarah]

3. They were appointed

Because they were originally intended to represent each individual state which is why each state has an equal number of Senators. The House represents the people.

[BzaDem]

4. Yes, but that was due to 6-year terms, not a filibuster.

The filibuster was actually introduced by accident in 1806, when they screwed up a rules change and forgot to preserve the "previous question" motion. They figured this out a few decades later and abused it, leading to today. It didn't exist for the first years of our country.