This week much debate has gone on regarding filabuster tactics in the Senate. The filabuster is technique that political minority groups use in the Senate to forstall the passage of legislation.

Originally, the Senate debated issues as long as there was debate. The filabuste rwas a colorful label for the technique of "talking a bill to death". Members of a political minority would gain the "floor" and speak against particular legislation. When a speaker was finished they would yield the "floor" to another speaker.. This would continue until they could no longer physically continue and a vote would be taken or such time as enough members left the chamber so that a "quorum call" would fail and the Senate would recess until the following day .

By the early twentieth century the frequency and duration of filabusters disrupted Senate business to such a point that in 2017 Senate Rule 22 was adopted which allowed a "cloture" to limit debate with a two-thirds vote of the Senate. However, minority political groups continued to use the filabuster to block majority rule. Between 1917 and 1957 cloture was invoked only five times.

In 1975 the two-thirds rule was changed to three-fifths. As it stands now sixty senators are required to invoke cloture. The requirement is sixty senators, not merely three-fifths of those in the Chamber when a cloture vote is taken.

But filabustering itself has gone out of style. Either Senators got lazy or they felt that there was too much important business conducted off the Senate floor that by tradition it became less important to actually conduct a filabuster and keep the Senate in session for hour after hour, day after day. In current practice actual filabusters are really showmanship opportunites for particular senators to hold the floor for long periods of time to receive massive press coverage. Ted Cruz spoke for 21 hours in 2013 after cloture was invoked. By merely threatening a filabuster a political minority will prevent a small majority from attempting to invoke cloture. In the current reality sixty Senators are required to pass most legislation.

However, nothing other than tradition and other pressing business prevents Senate leadership (are you listening Senator Schumer?) from forcing a politcal minority to maintain debate, and to maintain a session as long as is necessary. When the Senate reaches gridlock (soon probably) this may be the only recourse. The filabuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 lasted 75 hours before enough votes were corralled to invoke cloture.

If it took 200 (or 400) continuous hours of nonsense speaches to finally pass an important Gun Control legislation in 2021 it would be worth it. Senators do your jobs, if you want to pass important legislation prepare to work for it.