So I understand what a filibuster is and how it works in practice. A filibuster is when a politician intentionally speaks as long as possible during debate to prevent a vote on legislation. And I know in practice, it means that any legislation needs 60 votes for cloture to end debate and bring legislation to a vote.
But my question is, how? Is the belief that every member of the minority party will take turns filibustering and delay the legislation for days if not weeks and derail the rest of the agenda? I’m trying to bridge the concept of a politician sitting in the pulpit for 12 hours reading off a phone book and how it works in practice where they vote for cloture and then give up if it doesn’t reach 60 votes. Can they just say they want to keep debate open and sit there unless the senate majority leader either calls for cloture or moves on to another bill?
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My understanding in the US Senate is that they don’t have to stand up and speak non-stop like Jimmy Stewart did in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. They can just declare a filibuster and with 41 votes they can prevent a bill from getting a vote on the floor.
The rules can be fairly complex. It doesn’t apply to every type of bill.
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