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Topic: Filibuster (legislative tactic)

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	Legislative Glossary
		Committee—A group of legislators in the House or Senate that prepares legislation for action for the officiating chamber.
		Filibuster—Delaying tactic associated with the Senate and used by the Minority in an effort to prevent the passage of a bill or amendment.
		The House cannot filibuster as all debate is governed by rigid rules crafted by the Rules Committee setting the parameters for discussion and approved by the entire body for each separate piece of legislation.
	www.socialworkers.org /advocacy/resources/glossary.asp (603 words)

	Filibuster - Search Results - MSN Encarta
		Filibuster, in legislative procedure, term denoting the means employed by members of a legislative assembly to delay or prevent action on a measure...
		- political delaying tactic: a tactic used to delay or prevent the passage of legislation, e.g.
		- legislative obstructor: an obstructor of the passage of legislation
	ca.encarta.msn.com /Filibuster.html (116 words)

	Filibuster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Filibusters do not occur in legislative bodies in which time for debate is strictly limited by procedural rules, such as the United States House of Representatives.
		The seven Democrats promised not to filibuster Bush's nominees except under "extraordinary circumstances," while the seven Republicans promised to oppose the nuclear option unless they think a nominee was being filibustered that wasn't under "extraordinary circumstances." Specifically, the Democrats promised to stop the filibuster on Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William H. Pryor, Jr.
		The "filibuster" was aborted because the opposition to the privatisation of Gaz de France appeared to lack support amongst the general population.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Filibuster_(legislative_tactic) (2844 words)

	CQ Press In Context : Future of the Supreme Court
		Filibusters are permitted by the Senate's tradition of unlimited debate, a characteristic that distinguishes it from the House of Representatives.
		The term filibuster is derived from a word for pirates or soldiers of fortune; the term originated in the House, although the modern House seldom experiences delay arising from a prolonged debate.
		Delaying tactics were first used in the Senate in 1789, by opponents of a bill to locate the nation's capital on the Susquehanna River.
	www.cqpress.com /incontext/SupremeCourt/filibuster.htm (2387 words)

	Editorial: Can they talk? / Filibusters have a place in Senate deliberation
		It is the prerogative of U.S. senators to stall legislative proceedings with a parliamentary tactic called the filibuster, unlimited debate that can be cut off under current rules by a minimum of 60 votes.
		Both Democrats and Republicans invoked the filibuster with increasing frequency in the second half of the 20th century.
		But as frustrating as a filibuster can be -- the late Strom Thurmond holds the record for gabbing 24 hours and 18 minutes to block civil rights legislation -- it is a legitimate privilege, though one that should not be employed lightly.
	www.post-gazette.com /forum/20030803edfilibuster0803p2.asp (406 words)

	Filibuster (Site not responding. Last check: )
		Basically, the filibuster is the ability of one or more senators to hold the floor and refuse to yield it to another senator from the opposing view.
		The framers intent was for a majority to pass legislation, not a supermajority because of the failings of the supermajority with the Article of Confederation.
		For example, in 1968, “a filibuster forced open-housing advocates to reduce the coverage of their anti-discrimination bill and to drop key enforcement provisions—greatly changing the import of the bill—in order to gain cloture on an amendment and pass the bill.
	www.juntosociety.com /government/filibuster.htm (4197 words)

	filibuster - HighBeam Encyclopedia
		The filibuster has been used by various blocs of Senators for different purposes; for example, by conservatives resisting civil-rights legislation in the 1960s, and by liberals resisting cuts in the capital gains tax in 1991.
		Defending the dinosaur: the case for not fixing the filibuster.
		Filibuster wars and the revenge of spinmeisters: Both parties, despite their rhetorical amnesia, have in the past switched sides on the tactic.
	www.encyclopedia.com /doc/1E1-filibust.html (462 words)

	NPR : Primer: Judicial Nominees and the Senate Filibuster
		Despite the new cloture rule, however, filibusters continued to be an effective means to block legislation, due in part to the fact that a two-thirds majority vote is difficult to obtain.
		Filibusters were particularly useful to Southern senators blocking civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s.
		The implicit threat to filibuster, known as "placing a hold" on a particular bill or nominee, is a common tactic to slow or derail a given proposal or individual.
	www.npr.org /templates/story/story.php?storyId=4575047 (1768 words)

	Legislative Skills for Future Generalists
		Many legislators lack a background in health care and rely on health-care leaders among their constituents to provide them with information and direction.
		Legislators are most responsive to voters in their own districts or states.
		DO ask the legislator for his or her support, as well as his or her position on the issue.
	www.amsa.org /programs/gpit/legislative.cfm (3797 words)

	People For the American Way - About the Filibuster and the "Nuclear Option"
		In the context of a Supreme Court battle, the filibuster means that 60 Senate votes may be needed to confirm out of the mainstream judicial nominees rather than a simple majority of 51.
		For two centuries, our leaders have supported the tradition of the filibuster in order to promote cooperation and compromise, and because they have recognized the dangers of one party control and the importance of protecting the rights of the minority.
		A primary goal of the filibuster is to force greater deliberation and compromise on controversial Senate matters by requiring that they receive 60 votes to proceed.
	www.pfaw.org /pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17881 (802 words)

	www.UporDownVote.com (Site not responding. Last check: )
		The filibuster debate is a stark reminder of the unprincipled and results-oriented nature of politics, as senators readily switch sides for tactical advantage.
		The filibuster, a parliamentary tactic allowing 41 senators to block a vote by extending debate on a measure indefinitely, is indeed venerable - it can be traced back two centuries.
		The filibuster is a reactionary instrument that goes too far in empowering a minority of senators.
	upordownvote.com /xp303htm/042705b.htm (501 words)

	Overby Filibuster Article - MU College of Arts and Science Research Communication Project
		Filibustering, a tactic used by the minority party to thwart the will of the majority party, has been used more commonly in the Senate over the past 30 years.
		In fact, by the mid-1990s more than half of the bills identified by Congressional Quarterly as "major" were subject to tactics that included filibusters, holds, and threats of filibusters.
		Overby and Bell currently are extending their study, which originally appeared in the August 2004 issue of the Journal of Politics, to cover the entire history of the Senate, which includes one of the most comprehensive efforts ever to identify and code each filibuster or threatened filibuster in history.
	rcp.missouri.edu /articles/overby-filibuster.html (625 words)

	The Committee for Justice
		The obstructionist tactics disturb two centuries of Senate tradition in which floor filibusters were not used to impede the duty to advise and consent.
		The example most closely related to the judicial filibusters is the precedent of April 5, 1980 that ended debate entirely on a motion to proceed to a nomination or treaty.
		Some have argued that filibuster abuse with respect to judges must be tolerated because acting against judicial filibusters necessarily means the end of legislative filibusters.
	www.committeeforjustice.org /contents/reading/032405.shtml (2362 words)

	Frist backs rule change on judges=The Hill.com= (Site not responding. Last check: )
		Since Democrats launched a permanent filibuster against Miguel Estrada, whom Bush nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the first time a judicial nominee was subjected to a series of failed cloture votes, conservatives have discussed ways to eliminate such blocking tactics.
		One variation of the tactic would entail asking the vice president or a member of the majority presiding over the chamber to issue a ruling from the chair invalidating filibusters of judicial nominees.
		Another tactic would be to extend the legislative day over the course of many calendar days, taking advantage of the rule that a lawmaker can only speak twice on the same subject during a legislative day.
	www.hillnews.com /news/072104/frist.aspx (1132 words)

	Senator Orrin G. Hatch on Judicial Nominations on National Review Online
		The filibusters used to block such votes have mired the judicial-confirmation process in a political and constitutional crisis that undermines democracy, the judiciary, the Senate, and the Constitution.
		If these filibusters were part of the Senate's historical practice or, as a recent NRO editorial put it, merely made confirming nominees more difficult, a deliberate solution might not be warranted.
		Filibusters of legislation, however, are different and solving the current crisis does not require throwing the entire filibuster baby out with the judicial nomination bathwater.
	www.nationalreview.com /comment/hatch200501120729.asp (2372 words)

	Campaign finance law challenged - The Boston Globe
		The apparent 4-to-4 split means Alito would probably cast the deciding vote.
		Ironically, Alito became a justice early last year only after some Democrats, led by Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, tried but failed to block a vote on his confirmation, the same legislative tactic Wisconsin Right to Life attacked in its 2004 ads.
		He argued that political issues sometimes move quickly, leaving little time for a lengthy court review of proposed issue ads that must air on short notice to make a difference.
	www.boston.com /news/nation/articles/2007/04/26/campaign_finance_law_challenged (912 words)

	the polling company T inc. - Filibuster Poll (Site not responding. Last check: )
		While a majority (61%) of Americans could not define or describe a “filibuster” in their own words when queried in an open-ended fashion, over two-thirds (68%) were able to correctly identify the meaning of filibuster as a legislative procedure when given a list of six options.
		In the close-end question, two-thirds (68%) of men and women were able to correctly pick from a list of six choices that the filibuster is a legislative procedure, while one-fifth (21%) volunteered an “I don’t know” or chose not to answer.
		A final 1% each stated that a filibuster was a breed of horse and a type of sandwich.
	www.pollingcompany.com /viewPage.asp?pid=121 (379 words)

	The Raw Story \| Let's talk filibuster
		The first recorded use of the tactic was in 1790, when senators filibustered to prevent the state’s capital from becoming Philadelphia.
		From there, the filibuster was used countless times, by Democrats, Republicans, and Whigs alike, most notoriously by Senator Strom Thurmond in a protest to the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
		Repealing the filibuster would not only re-appropriate power (as if it isn’t concentrated enough), but it would also disenfranchise those millions of voters who expect their legislative body to represent them and not tow the party line.
	www.rawstory.com /exclusives/selinger/filibuster_120304.htm (841 words)

	Filibuster (military) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		A filibuster is a private individual who engages in unauthorized warfare against a foreign country, often with the intent of overthrowing the existing government.
		The term filibuster and the variant "freebooter" are also applied more generally to individuals who attack foreign lands or interests for financial gain, without authority from their own government.
		The actions of the filibusters is what led to the name being applied figuratively to the political act of filibustering in the U.S. Senate.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Filibuster_(military) (453 words)

	NOW. Politics & Economy. Judgement Day. The History of the Filibuster \| PBS
		A common dictionary definition of filibuster is: "The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action." In terms of the current debate it means preventing controversial judicial nominations from coming up for a vote.
		Originally, memberS of the House could filibuster as well, but as their numbers grew the practice became unwieldy; the Senate however continued to view filibusters as a way of ensuring that every member could have his say...at length.
		As the filibustering of Abe Fortas shows, both parties have used the tactic to block the advancement of judicial candidates.
	www.pbs.org /now/politics/filibuster.html (831 words)

	Law.com: Filibuster Leaves Pryor in Legislative Limbo
		Republicans have decried the Democrats' use of the filibuster, which allows the minority party in the Senate to put a stop to legislative business it does not like.
		Democrats have defended the tactic as a rare step in a small number of highly controversial nominations, noting that 140 of Bush's circuit and district court nominees have been approved.
		Goldman said from his perspective, the Democrats' filibuster "is the way it should be," because their obstruction is public -- requiring them to explain their reasons for stopping an up-or-down vote.
	www.law.com /jsp/law/LawArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1058416468263 (566 words)

	Online NewsHour: Senate Locked Over Filibuster Debate -- May 16, 2005
		In the history of the filibuster, usually racial minorities are not the winners; the one great exception was sort of a filibuster threat by Carol Moseley-Braun in 1993 when they were about to grant recognition to the Daughters of the Confederacy again, and she threatened to filibuster and won.
		Well, they didn't need to filibuster, because they controlled access to the floor, so senators used holds, anonymous holds on nominations to prevent them from coming to the floor; they used blue slips, a committee process which allowed the home state senator essentially to derail a nominee.
		And there was a filibuster attempt made and it was clear that they didn't have the votes probably even to get a majority for Fortis, so they allowed the nomination to die; they withdrew it.
	www.pbs.org /newshour/bb/congress/jan-june05/filibuster_5-16.html (2170 words)

	Break the filibuster Weekly Standard, The - Find Articles (Site not responding. Last check: )
		While the filibuster of judges is not, in a judicially enforceable sense, unconstitutional, it is contrary to the logic of the constitutional separation of powers.
		With this rule, the Senate has chosen to allow 40-plus percent of its members to block legislative action, out of respect for the view that delaying, even preventing, hasty action, or action that has only the support of a narrow majority, can be a good thing.
		This is why as recently as 14 years ago the possibility of filibustering Clarence Thomas, for example, was not entertained even by a hostile Democratic Senate that was able to muster 48 votes against him.
	www.findarticles.com /p/articles/mi_m0RMQ/is_32_10/ai_n13793174 (787 words)

	Advise and Consent: The Senate, the Judiciary and the Filibuster
		Filibuster: A device, used only in the Senate, to delay or prevent a vote by time-consuming talk.
		Constitutional scholar Raskin uses the Bush versus Gore decision declaring Bush president as a reflection of both the continuing momentum of a rightward swing and the antidemocratic thrust of the U.S. Supreme Court.
		Short overview of the filibuster as a legislative tactic, from Answers.com.
	www.springfieldlibrary.org /reading/filibuster.html (686 words)

	ACLJ • American Center for Law & Justice
		At stake is the future of the filibuster, a two-century-old parliamentary tactic that has recently been used by Democrats to prevent 10 of President Bush's appeals court nominees from being confirmed.
		On Tuesday, in what appeared to be an effort to assuage the concerns of some Republicans that ending judicial filibusters would open the door to ending filibusters on legislation, Dr. Frist insisted that was not the case.
		Perkins wrote: "A filibuster of legislation is both constitutional and within the rules of the Senate; a filibuster of judges is unconstitutional and a break with Senate tradition."
	www.aclj.org /news/Read.aspx?ID=1493 (1156 words)

	civilrights.org -- Don't Alter the Filibuster
		The so-called "nuclear option," a parliamentary tactic proposed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, would override the 60-vote rule in the Senate to break a filibuster of judicial nominees and allow approval of these judges with 51 votes.
		Senate Republicans, who are in the majority today with 55 votes, seem to forget that throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s, it was they who were in the minority and who used the filibuster to great effect against a tide of Democratic initiatives.
		When the political winds shift, Republicans will be back out of power in the Senate and will be reminded of the virtues of the filibuster in protecting their minority positions.
	www.civilrights.org /issues/nominations/details.cfm?id=30276 (292 words)

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