Democrats May Force All-Night Filibuster on Iraq Withdrawal

Democrats May Force All-Night Filibuster on Iraq Withdrawal

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 12:00 PM on November 14, 2007.

Steve Benen: If that's the case, allow me to give the Democratic leadership some positive encouragement: this is a good idea.

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report


When a senator threatens a filibuster on a bill, the Senate holds a cloture vote to end debate. If the measure gets 60 votes, the full chamber votes on the legislation. If the cloture vote fails, which is far more common in an evenly divided Senate, the bill is pulled from the floor. No one actually has to talk the bill to death.

But when it comes to the latest fight over Iraq funding, Senate Dems are apparently considering a plan to force Republicans to follow through and literally filibuster.



Well, I might call it a little theatrical, but that's not necessarily a criticism.

Depending on which polls you read, about two-thirds of the country wants to see Congress step and fight the Bush White House over ending the war in Iraq. Dems have tried to push various measures, even some with a few Republican allies, but when push comes to shove, they come up far short of the 60-vote requirement the GOP has established for meaningful legislation.

more...

http://alternet.org/blogs/peek/67905/

JUST DO IT

Thankie for the link.

Just another meaningless political stunt, like the last all night session they held.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!!

If they really wanted to DO SOMETHING, they would have Mandatory Cloture Votes ALL EVENING LONG. The last time, they "SCHEDULED" the votes, and not only didn't have them in the late night hours, they notified the repubs exactly when they were going to happen, in advance.

I'd like to see them really suffer. I'd like to see them make it as uncomfortable on themselves as possible.

I won't hold my breath on that happening though. They'll just cave in later anyways.

I think they are being strategic by getting the fight into public view. They may not "win" but they will succeed in getting the pretzeldents repeated unwillingness to compromise or put limits on this country's investment before the American people.

On edit: I thought you were going to take a break from all this,...for your own well-being?

I definitely plan to cut back on following things though.

I guess realizing how Completely Fucked Up the whole process is, makes me want to :puke:!!

This is one issue the Democrats KNOW they can win.

If they win on this one, maybe they can find the courage to actually pursue imposing the rule of law on these effers who have committed mass fraud upon the American people.

Damnit! Where is the courage to take a stand for the American people? Where is the courage to take a stand for the rule of law, for the Constitution, let alone common decency?

It's about time for an oldfashioned "read the Bible from cover to cover" fillbuster or else just repeat the same lines over and over again: "This 'war' is turning into nothing but a long con, only thousands get killed in addition to merely getting fleeced."

filibuster. Make them get up there on CSPAN all night, getting hoarse, reading the goddam phone book! Let America SEE why this Congress has been thwarted across the board on "what they were elected to do"...

Make sure they do it LONG ENOUGH so that even Fox has to cover it. Make CNN MSNBC CBS ABC etc etc explain what they're seeing on the screen.

Who will they have up there? Will it be the bigwigs? Will Boehner be standing there, sweating in his shirtsleeves to KEEP THE TROOPS IN HARMS WAY?? Or will it be delegated to some younger thug, keeping the money away from the troops?... Keeping them from getting as much time at home with their families as they do on the front lines?

DOITDOITDOITDOT!!!

Do it. Do it, do it, do it. Make it a casual day but do the people's work, please???!

Godd on ya, Dems.

i won't lose any sleep over it.

and am i insane, or is the MAJORITY talking about a filibuster?

filibuster.. Rather than just counting the probable votes and going home. This is why it's so confounding to the public. It looks like Congress isn't even trying.

A lengthy televised filibuster will force the discussion.

Republicans only need 1 vote to defeat it.

Thank the Universe The People are with us on this.."fighting bush on ending War On Iraq."

We know how this is going to play out. A little theatrics to appease the left wing loons and then another round of funding for the continued military occupation of the middle eastern oil fields.

I'm sorry, but that's the truth. The Senators will break out the cots, and we'll hear lots of speeches as they pull an all-nighter, but the result will be the same as a virtual filibuster - no cloture, bill blocked.

So, don't do it for just one night. If Reid had a spine, he'd not only force the filibuster, but he'd do what LBJ did for the Civil Rights Act and refuse to put any other business on the Senate Floor until the filibuster cracked. That would mean that the filibuster would go on for weeks, 24/7, no breaks. With frequent quorum calls so nobody gets to go home - they're all imprisoned in the Senate chamber for the duration. Reading from the phone book because even politicians run out of things to say after being forced to speechify for days straight.

That's how you crack the fuckers. That's real accomplishment.

One night on the floor is theatrics.

and the makeup is worn off, the women have removed the pantyhose and heels and the men all have fuzzy chins and look like the derelicts they are. . .

no, I'm being serious. I thought they MUTUALLY agreed to not filibuster on both sides of the aisle.

whatever happened to that agreement? was it null and void once the majority changed?

does this mean the agreement was worthless in the beginning, nonbinding?

Stop rolling over and handing them a double victory, dammit!

If they wanna use the filibuster as a threat, MAKE THEM WORK FOR IT!
And let the public watch them OBSTRUCTING the will of the people, too.

If they actually had to follow through on every filibuster threat,
they'd stop making them pretty quickly. They aren't exactly POPULAR
these days, and if the public saw them clogging up the Senate by
filibustering every other bill, they know damn well it would hurt
them at the polls.

They wouldn't keep it up for long.

populous will understand just who's screwing up here. Keep it going BEYOND the RW echo chamber's ability to spin it.... Don't stop until EVERYONE knows exactly who's zooming who!