How to Filibuster
As explained in the previous section, whenever a piece of legislation arises that a senator wants to delay, modify, or defeat; the senator’s best option is to filibuster. There are several ways to filibuster, but the first action the senator should take is to threaten to filibuster. The Majority Leader who has limited time to work must take any credible threat of a filibuster as a filibuster itself. [1] This is actually the most common form of filibuster and happens on an almost weekly occurrence. If the Majority Leader is unsuccessful in finding sixty votes (needed to make a cloture call which will be discussed in the next section), then there is a very good chance that the Majority Leader will effectively drop the bill. [1] This is the best possible outcome because the filibuster is silent and doesn’t waste the minority’s time.
In the event that the Majority Leader does not take the threat of a filibuster seriously, then the senator must prepare to filibuster the unwanted legislation. The senator will have to gather allies and as much information over the issue as he can get. It may be necessary to prepare physically. When Senator Thurmond filibustered for over twenty-four hours, he spent a few hours in a sauna in order to avoid having to use the restroom. [2] In order for a filibuster to be truly successful, the filibuster must outlast the majority’s patience. Even though Senator Thurmond filibustered for over twenty-four hours, no one else was able to take his place and the Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 – while still a landmark achievement – had to be modified before a super majority could be obtained in order to end the over fifty day filibuster.
Once all of the preparations have been made, now it is time to filibuster. While holding the floor for an indefinite amount of time is the most famous way of filibustering, there are several tactics that can be employed in order to further obstruct the process. There are several parliamentary procedures besides the debate that can be obstructed in order to further sidetrack the bill.
Quorum calls and objecting to unanimous consent are fairly easy methods of obstruction that while are easy to defend against can be quite a nuisance especially if there are many other senators that join. The following video demonstrates just how much time a quorum call can take.
Another brilliant aspect of these tactics is that it is almost impossible to tell if these tactics are being used for the purpose of obstruction or not. Senator Rick Santorum (R-P.A.) may have supported the amendment but wanted a quorum call for some other purpose than obstruction. There are several other motions like these that do nothing more than cause an annoyance, but when combined with the annoyances of other senators, these can become an effective filibuster.
The Amending Process is another venue to try a filibuster. Unless dispensed by unanimous consent, every measure can have an unlimited amount of amendments added to it. The Senate cannot dispose of any filed amendments before they are called up for floor consideration. [1] Similar to extended debate, this method is a battle of wills and is often threatened.
Lastly, the most famous version of the filibuster is the extended debate where a senator tries to talk for a very long time. While this is a tool of obstruction, it can also be used a last resort to rally more senators to the minority’s cause and also to bring attention to issues and concerns that the minority has with the bill. The extended debate does not have to include relevant material. Many of the famous extended debates involve senators reading Shakespeare, cooking recipes, and even legislation completely irrelevant to the bill being filibustered. [1] The main problem with this approach is of course the amount of time and physical fortitude this process can take. In the end, what matters is how many supporters the minority has and who is willing to give in first. Senator Thurmond was able to filibuster for over twenty-four hours. No one else came to his aid, so two hours later, the bill he was trying to filibuster still passed. The great irony is that while the filibuster does give any senator leverage over another, it is only a viable threat if a senator is able to form a large enough minority in order to be a true threat verses an annoyance.
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