Modern senators, of both political parties, have repeatedly resorted to the filibuster, once a seldomly used tool, to obstruct the will of the majority party. Until 1970, the Senate had only filed motions to end a filibuster 54 times, in total. With the onset of partisan warfare in the 1980s, however, filibusters have markedly increased-- astronomically so after Democrats regained the Senate in 2007, and Obama became president in 2009. In the most recent Congresses, a Republican minority has effectively impeded legislative enactments and presidential nominations to an unprecedented degree.