by Jill Zuckman
Frustrated that Republicans won’t allow a straight up-or-down vote on their proposal to withdraw troops from Iraq in the next 120 days, Senate Democrats announced today that they will insist that Republicans wage their filibuster the old fashioned way – through the night.
Senate Democratic leaders say they will keep senators working all night Tuesday, forcing them to explain their position on the war in Iraq.
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“We’re going to have votes during the night,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “We’re not going to let everybody go home and get some rest.”Republicans have scoffed at the Democratic outrage over their tactics. Insisting on a 60-vote threshold before a simple majority vote can be taken has become increasingly commonplace in the Senate whenever anything remotely controversial is considered.
Democrats, however, said there is a tradition of bipartisanship when it comes to the defense authorization bill, the legislation currently on the Senate floor. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Reid. “They block everything.”
Still, by insisting on the procedural hurdle, Republicans are all but guaranteeing that the Levin-Reed amendment – calling for the withdrawal of troops – will die. While a majority of the Senate is willing to vote for the proposal, there are not 60 senators supporting it.
To dramatize their determination, Democrats plan to bring dozens of cots into hallways around the Senate, as well as Chinese food to sustain hungry senators late at night. Veterans groups plan to pack the galleries to watch the debate.
During past filibusters, senators have been known to read everything from the phone book to the encyclopedia, just to kill time.
Democrats said they want to keep the focus on the need to change course in Iraq, and they are trying to force Republicans to engage in a substantive debate – even if it occurs in the middle of the night.
“It should not be easy for people to run away from this issue,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Republicans senators, however, are supporting other proposals that would express their unhappiness with the war without insisting on intractable timetables.
Senators Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and John Warner (R-Va.) have proposed directing the Bush administration to file a report to Congress by Oct. 16 on its contingency plans for Iraq. It also requests the administration submits a revised authorization for the war, since the 2002 authorization is “obsolete,” Lugar said.
Democratic leaders, however, said the Republican proposal won’t bring the war to an end.
“The president won’t change unless we require him to change,” Schumer said.
While Republicans dismissed the Democratic decision to work through the night as nothing more than political theater, Democrats forcefully disagreed.
“I don’t think it’s a stunt,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader, on the floor of the Senate.
“How many sleepless nights have our soldiers and their families had waiting to find out if they’ll come home alive?” Durbin asked. “It’s about time for the Senate to spend at least one sleepless night. Maybe it’s a symbol, but it’s an important symbol for soldiers and their families.”