The filibuster, according to its traditional definition, was a tactic in which a minority of senators may stand on the floor of the U.S. Senate and speak continuously to delay passage of a bill supported by the majority.
Nowadays, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough to prevent a vote from ever occurring on a bill, because a filibuster with continuous speaking is not required by Senate rules anymore. Instead, a group of at least 41 senators may simply tell the Senate Majority Leader "we'll filibuster that bill" and that's all they have to do to block it -- silently.
However, the rules don't require the Senate Majority Leader to schedule other Senate business instead of the bill being filibustered. If Sen. Harry Reid wants to, he can let opponents of health care reform shut down the Senate by filibustering the bill he brings to the floor. And if he can't find 60 votes to prevent a filibuster, that's exactly what he should do -- allow obstructionist Republicans and DINOs to shut down the Senate indefinitely, leaving it an empty chamber, preventing all other important business from being debated and voted upon.
Wouldn't that be a huge political risk, one might ask?
I don't think so. The majority of the American people blamed the government shutdown of 1995 on Newt Gingrich and the Republicans, who refused to compromise with President Bill Clinton to produce a budget he would be willing to sign.
Similarly, if health care reform opponents filibuster the bill sent to the Senate floor by Majority Leader Reid, and thus cause a shutdown of the U.S. Senate (and by extension the entire legislative process, since no other bills could be sent to the president's desk until the filibuster ended), it's a safe bet that the American people would side with Reid and the majority of senators who support health care reform. After all, most people instinctively understand that democracy means majority rule -- and in this case, a fairly sizable majority of the Senate, perhaps as many as 57 out of 100 reportedly support the bill Reid has said he plans to bring to the floor.
Furthermore, health care reform -- including the public option -- is very popular, as polls show. Even in Red states, small majorities or large minorities of people support a public option for health insurance. In Blue states the support is overwhelming.
If Republicans and their two or three "Independent Democrat" or otherwise DINO allies in the Senate choose to filibuster health care reform and Harry Reid chooses to make them actually continue the filibuster indefinitely, without moving on to other Senate business, eventually the American people will grow so outraged at the filibusterers that political pressure will force them to allow health care reform to come to a vote.
The American people won't tolerate another government shutdown. If they see Republicans shutting down the Senate to protect the interests of wealthy health insurance corporations and prevent the expansion of choice and affordability of health care for the American people, they will register their discontent by threatening to vote these filibustering Senators out of office. With effective presentation of the Democratic message on this issue and good framing, the health care reform filibuster would probably end in a matter of a couple weeks -- and the Republicans would be far less popular than they have ever been in history, even worse than their current nadir.
Majority Leader Reid is showing some spine by deciding to include the opt-out instead of the trigger in the bill he brings to the Senate floor. Let's encourage him to show more than just a couple vertebrae but a full-length backbone! Let's encourage him to force the opponents of the health care reform bill to actually filibuster it and shut down the Senate.
Interestingly, the modern-day rules about filibusters actually may work in our favor, because nobody will be giving days of continuous speeches on the Senate floor promoting Republican lies and talking points against health care reform. That old-fashioned kind of filibuster could have worked against us in this age of 24 hour cable TV news, because Fox and CNN would be filled with video clip after video clip of Republicans giving impassioned speeches promoting their biased and factually erroneous view of health care in America, day after day. The modern "silent filibuster," if ever actually executed rather than just threatened, is essentially just a shutdown of Senate business. No speeches, no opportunity to look bold and courageous and make their case 24 hours a day from the hallowed Senate chamber -- just endless crickets, while the American people get more and more angry that obstructionist politicians are holding up other important legislation.
Senator Reid: If you can't find the 60 votes for cloture -- as appears likely now that Joe Lieberman has said he won't vote for cloture -- why not let opponents of health care reform really filibuster? Wouldn't it be good strategy? Take a page from the Alan Grayson playbook, go forth with rock-solid spine, and dare the Republicans and DINOs to do something they know will make them look like the most repugnant, heartless politicians imaginable.
Make them do it, and they probably won't have the guts. But if they do, let them commit political suicide by shutting down the Senate to protect the huge profits of health insurance companies at the expense of suffering Americans. These are historic times; health care reform is a historic cause. Let the majority rule, and let the bitter minority obstruct openly if they wish to do so. And let the chips fall where they may.
Don't worry, Senator Reid, the American people are on your side.