"Filibuster" from Wikipedia

[panader0]

I have been thinking about why the Dems are so afraid of a filibuster.
What's the obsession with 60 votes when even with 60 Dems we can't get 60 votes.
So let the 'Pubs filibuster. It would make some cool C-span. I seem to remember some great old filibusters when the poor legislators had to spend the night and have food sent in, Big deal.

"A filibuster, or "speaking or talking out a bill", is a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body whereby one attempts to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a proposal by extending a debate on that proposal.

The term filibuster was first used in 1851. It was derived from the Spanish filibustero meaning pirate or freebooter. This term had evolved from the French word flibustier, which itself evolved from the Dutch vrijbuiter (freebooter). This term was applied at the time to American adventurers, mostly from Southern states, who sought to overthrow the governments of Central American states, and was transferred to the users of the filibuster, seen as a tactic for pirating or hijacking debate.<1>"

[vi5]

1. You'll have people on here explaining to you...

..that it doesn't work that way. They won't explain why and how it doesn't work that way, they'll just condescend to you and dismiss you as not being serious or insult you for not properly understanding how politics work with the same amazing sense of keen insight that they bring to the table.

[elocs]

3. You know, you can explain to people how things work, but they won't read it.

I posted what I thought was a good explanation of reconciliation and specifically how it would relate to the healthcare reform bill and it got 4 responses (but 5 Recs). So you can provide good info and explanations, but DUers evidently want complicated matters explained in 25 words or less or to use pictures or graphs.

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7480650

[elocs]

2. The Myth of the Filibuster: Dems Can't Make Republicans Talk All Night:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/23/the-myth-of-the-filibuste_n_169117.html

Hoping for a C-SPAN spectacle of GOP obstruction, some impatient Democrats are urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to call Republicans on their filibuster bluff.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) made a plea typical of the genre, recently telling Politico that Reid should force Republicans into a filibustering talk-a-thon, "so that the American people can see who's undermining action."

By threatening a filibuster, the shrunken bloc of 41 GOP senators has just enough members to prevent a vote, requiring Democrats to make concessions to pick off a few moderate Republicans.

Reid has heard the calls. But his answer will surely disappoint: Sorry. It can't happen.

Reid's office has studied the history of the filibuster and analyzed what options are available. The resulting memo was provided to the Huffington Post and it concludes that a filibustering Senator "can be forced to sit on the floor to keep us from voting on that legislation for a finite period of time according to existing rules but he/she can't be forced to keep talking for an indefinite period of time."

Bob Dove, who worked as a Senate parliamentarian from 1966 until 2001, knows Senate rules as well as anyone on the planet. The Reid analysis, he says, is "exactly correct."

More at the link.

The filibuster might just come in handy for Dems the next time the Republicans control the Senate. Then we might think the need for 60 votes is not such a bad idea. Reid may not be the greatest Senate leader, but he is not stupid concerning the filibuster and he certainly has been thoroughly advised about it no matter what DU may think about it.

[GrantDem]

4. Didn't really matter...

Repubs pushed their BS through when they had 55 seats and even 51 seats. With the help of the same "moderate" Dems that cause the problems now.

[elocs]

5. That is exactly true. Republicans are very concentrated to the right

and have better discipline than Democrats. Will Rogers knew what he was talking about when he said: "I belong to no organized party. I'm a Democrat". It's as true now, if not more, than it was then.

[dhpgetsit]

6. Rs only had to whisper the phrase "nuclear option"

and Ds would melt away.