On April 26th at 11am, a group of students and postdocs started Filibuster Frist, a filibuster in support of the filibuster on the steps of the Frist Campus Center at Princeton University. As reported in the NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC , BBC, Talking Points Memo, AP, Time, and here on DailyKos, this small protest grew to include many hundreds of students, staff, faculty, and community members. The protest and filibustering went on continuously for nearly 400 hours, culminating on May 11th-12th in a filibuster on Capitol Hill in view of Sen. Frist's office.
Although the filibustering at Princeton is over, the protest against the "nuclear option" is spreading like wildfire from campus to campus. The Filibuster Frist @ Princeton organizers are tracking the efforts at Filibusters Across America. Thus far, over 30 campuses have staged some form of mock filibuster in support of the filibuster. Others have staged call-ins to Senators. And though the
live filibuster webcam is no more, the Princeton Progressive Review is live blogging the Senate debate on judicial nominees.
A Word of Thanks and a Call for Action
Filibuster Frist began with a simple idea - that the "nuclear option" was and is a radical attempt to reshape American democracy by turning the Senate into a strictly majoritarian body, eliminating protections for minority rights, and stocking the appellate courts and eventually the Supreme Court with radical right wing judges. The Princeton students, postdocs, faculty, and community members who came out to talk through rain, darkness, and drunken hecklers had no idea how much attention we would attract to this issue. Part of our ability to continue talking and talking and talking was due to the support we received under our multicolored umbrella from friends and colleagues. But part of the reason we persisted was because of the support of the DailyKos community, who helped spread word of our efforts, ordered us late-night pizza, brought us ice in DC, and certainly were among the many small donors who helped us raise nearly $10,000 to support our trip to Capitol Hill.
What happens next? Now that the filibuster debate has reached the Senate floor, it is crucial that we TAKE ACTION - and the organizers of Filibuster Frist are not stopping until a decision in the Senate is reached. We hope the Kos community considers joining one of the many ongoing filibusters in support of the filibuster in Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Carolina, and many other states. Or start your own using the Filibuster 101 tip sheet the Princeton filibuster-ers have put together.
Whatever you do, the time is now, and there is a progressive community out there willing to speak up and voice dissent for what we believe (and know) is right. Thanks again from all the organizers of Filibuster Frist @ Princeton.