Hmm, I'm not sure everything is settled and in place. I understand that Frist tried to get UC to place a time specific for a vote, and Reid objected. Then Frist filed a cloture motion, signed by 17 senators, that will be voted on Monday afternoon. I believe that you have to wait 1 day after cloture is filed to hold the vote. Frist did this because he's heard the rumors of a possible Democratic fillibuster. Then, FRist said, and Reid apparently agreed, that once the cloture motion passed, then they have scheduled the vote on the nomination for 11am on Tuesday. That's where I understand we are right now.
Now, here's my question: Doesn't the cloture motion, after it's passed, require 100 additional hours of debate and then a vote? I think the amount of debate time can be changed at any time, but I assume that means via UC. I'm 100% sure that if the cloture motion passes, they Demos will DEMAND the full 100 hours of debate prior to voting, and there aren't enough hours in the day to do that prior to the SOTU address, so the Demos will at least have achieved that.
Precisely.
And you and I both know Frist would give it to them.
I'm sick of him.
No. The default in Rule XXII is 30 hours.
I think the amount of debate time can be changed at any time, but I assume that means via UC.
Frist has that UC now. He filed the cloture motion, asserted that it would be voted at 4:30 PM Monday (which is an odd time, as Rule XXII says one hour after open of business), and asked for UC that if the cloture motion passes, the vote on the nominee would be at 11:00 AM on Tuesday. There was no objection to that agreement.
http://rules.senate.gov/senaterules/rule22.php ...
After no more than thirty hours of consideration of the measure, motion, or other matter on which cloture has been invoked, the Senate shall proceed, without any further debate on any question, to vote on the final disposition thereof to the exclusion of all amendments not then actually pending before the Senate at that time and to the exclusion of all motions, except a motion to table, or to reconsider and one quorum call on demand to establish the presence of a quorum (and motions required to establish a quorum) immediately before the final vote begins. The thirty hours may be increased by the adoption of a motion, decided without debate, by a threefifths affirmative vote of the Senators duly chosen and sworn, and any such time thus agreed upon shall be equally divided between and controlled by the Majority and Minority Leaders or their designees. However, only one motion to extend time, specified above, may be made in any one calendar day.