[ken5050]

I believe that there is no more actual filabuster in the Senate..i.e. non-stop talking and control of the floor....you merely "announce" that you're going to filabuster..then they have to round up the 60 votes to invoke cloture and gag you.....this move by Chuckie, IMHO, is stupid...it'll force several Senators...like Lincoln out into the open early.....how can they announce they they support Pickering, but vote NOT to invoke cloture...

[Howlin]

Evidently the Dems have had a meeting and have decided to obstruct on every level where they can find a "rule" or "precedent" to back them up.

I find it interesting that they now want to invoke the rules of the Senate, when Daschle apparently just did whatever HE wanted, damn the rules, while he was majority leader.

Fine by me. The more they do this, the more the American people will see who is holding up progress in the Congress.

I hope Frist learned his lesson yesterday.

[exDem from Miami]

Let the GOP call their bluff on this one. Round up the cots and bring 'em out to the floor. I want to see Chuckie talk for 26 hours straight....

[michigander]

hold - An informal practice by which a Senator informs his or her floor leader that he or she does not wish a particular bill or other measure to reach the floor for consideration. The Majority Leader need not follow the Senator's wishes, but is on notice that the opposing Senator may filibuster any motion to proceed to consider the measure.

filibuster - Informal term for any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

This is what I'd do:
(1) Schedule the vote for additional unemployment benefits extension after the Judge Pickering Vote
(2) Let Chucky fillabuster to his heart's content ... meanwhile of course, the vote to extend unemployment benefits are delayed because of the obstructionist Dems ....

[Zack Nguyen]

The trick here is to actually physically force them to filibuster. Make Robert Byrd talk aimlessly at 2:00 am. See how long they can keep it up.

[copycat]

I believe that there is no more actual filabuster in the Senate..i.e. non-stop talking and control of the floor....you merely "announce" that you're going to filabuster..then they have to round up the 60 votes to invoke cloture and gag you.

I believe that was a Trent Lott invention, the non-filibuster filibuster.

Frist should make him talk until 9 of his Dem colleagues can't stand it anymore.

[Political Junkie Too]

you merely "announce" that you're going to filabuster..then they have to round up the 60 votes to invoke cloture and gag you

That was the basic argument for Daschle's "super-majority" requirement on so-called "controversial" issues. It was Thomas Jefferson who said that anything other than 50%+1 was minority rule. In other words, requiring a 60-vote majority on controversial issues really meant that only 40 Senators got to decide what happens instead of 51.

-PJ