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Video: As Senate considers health care reform bill a filibuster becomes a real possibility
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The Senate filibuster may last into the night. AP Photo Alex Brandon
Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has finally unveiled the Democrats Senate version of health care reform and now the fight begins. Tomorrow Democrats will attempt to bring the bill to the floor to start debate on the bill. This motion will require sixty votes and while Sen. Reid does not yet have those votes Politico reports that he is close and expected to be able to pull it off.
While this vote will have some significance as it moves the bill closer to passage it is important to note that this will simply allow the debate on the bill to actually begin. In order to vote on the bill another motion must be made and passed with sixty votes. Until that motion passes the Senate will be in what is commonly called a filibuster in which Republicans (or anyone else opposed to the bill) can speak for as long as they like in order to stall the process in hopes of killing the bill all together. A full explanation of the filibuster process can be read here.
How a filibuster actually occurs is quite different from common perception. In recent history the Senate has not even required the Senator to actually speak to stall the bill. Instead the Senator merely has to announce their intention to filibuster and the bill is then shelved. When a Senator is forced to speak rarely do the other Senators stick around to actually listen to what is a long and relatively boring speech. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell explains his own first experience with the filibuster below. The humorous account describes Mitchell desperately trying to avoid waking other Senators like Ted Kennedy and Jesse Helms while he tries to gain access to a cot for some sleep. Remember Mitchell and the other Senators are sleeping while the filibuster is occurring.
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