I don’t intend getting into the debate over healthcare reform in the US; suffice to say that neither the House nor Senate version is close to what I would do, and I think reform is very much needed. I say that only to emphasise the point that the question I’m about to ask should in no way be read as my expressing support for the bill.
So here’s my question. The Democrats are complaining that they can’t get it done with only 59 Senate seats because they need 60 to overcome a Republican filibuster. Why can’t they just say to the Republicans: bring it on? How long can a Republican filibuster last? Why don’t they just let the Republicans try it, and spend the entire time saying to the American people, “we want X, Y and Z: the GOP are using parliamentary process to stop us doing something good for you?”
You could also read that as “Why don’t the Democrats act like they have a pair?”. But although I do think that the democrats are currently acting like they don’t have a pair, that’s not what I mean. I actually don’t understand why the filibuster is such a big threat. By my understanding of a filibuster, you have to talk continuously without sitting down or yielding the floor. Is there something I don’t understand here? Does cloture actually require that you get 60 votes for cloture on any bill before it’s brought to the floor? Or am I missing something?
If anyone stopping by understands, could you please leave a comment to explain, because this one has me a bit stumped.
Filed under: Health, US Politics Tagged: | cloture, filibuster, Senate
