The problem is that it wasn't use often enough for the right reasons before.
We have the same problem with impeachment: it should have been used often and early to show its importance. Unfortunately for us now, we had men cut from better cloth at that time, and it wasn't necessary. By the time it was necessary, there was sufficient precedent of it being an "extreme" measure.
Well, congresscritters now do not usually duel one another on the floor, nor do they beat one another with their canes. They’ve found it much kinder and more civil to trade favors with the taxpayer’s dollars.