The Senate is in the middle of a real live filibuster, folks!
UPDATE: Andre in Atlanta has taken over hosting duties here. Thanks for stopping by! Last one out, turn out the lights.
Our leader Harry has the Senate debating H.R. 1585 - The Defense Authorization Bill and he's made a simple request of his colleagues: allow a Simple Up or Down Vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment which would begin a phased withdrawal of US troops by the end of this year.
"Nope, not gonna do it," respond the Republicans.
"OK," Harry says, "bring in the cots and pack your toothbrush. We're going to have a debate for THIRTY HOURS, ladies and gentlemen."
You can watch on C-Span2
Better yet, you can follow (or join) the live play-by-play below the fold. Don't forget your popcorn.
Recommend THIS and please UNREC any previous Live Blog diaries to keep the rec list clear for only ONE of these threads
We had to abandon the Live Blog Parent/Child format because the Parent diary never made the rec List.
We're going back to the old way:
* Rec the current diary on your way in.
* Unrec as you move to the next diary.
Rules:
No photos or images
Publish new diary when current Live Blog reaches 200 comments (or drops off the Recent Diaries list - 50 deep)
Today's liveblogging brought to you by:
Liveblog I; Liveblog
Liveblog II; Agressive Progressive
Liveblog III; Oreo
Liveblog IV; Marcus Tullius
Liveblog V; SallyCat
Liveblog VI; Builderman
Liveblog #007 - Chrispy67
Coming Up Later:
8. Andre in Atlanta
9. Ellicatt - about 7pm edt we may need a shift in #s here
- Ninepatch - (congratulations, again!)
- Aimeeinkc - tentative - if this turns out to be 9PM CDT or later, this is slot is filled.
- ?????
X. If necessary tomorrow, smokeymonkey
We need some MANY more volunteers...this is going be a fun and long night!
Today's Feature Presentation stars (in no particular order)
The Good Guys:
Harry Reid - the soft-spoken (yet fearless) Democratic leader
Dick Durbin - the majority whip has been keeping it real all day long
Carl Levin - co-sponsor of the amendment causing all the fuss
Jack Reed - our other co-sponsor
Robert Byrd - he's been around a few years and knows how these things work
Chuck Hagel - he's just taken the podium - and he's on our side - supporting the Levin-Reed Amendment.
The Obstructionists:
John McCain - a tireless supporter of a failed policy
Trent "Foghorn Leghorn" Lott (h/t to Omen) - today's designated whiner - never in all his long years in the Senate has he been treated so poorly as he has been today, he told us earlier.
The Plot Thus Far:
Our guys in blue (and now Hagel) have been delivering a command performance, forcefully and articulately putting the obstructionist Republicans in their place. All the huffing and puffing from the Republicans has been amusing, infuriating and revealing. All the details are in the links above.
Waiting in the wings are the House Democrats:
I just heard that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is going to lead a march of House members from the House to the Senate tonight to lend their support to Senate Democrats who are holding an all-night session to challenge the Republicans' ongoing filibuster of efforts to change the course in Iraq.(h/t to cotterperson & Americablog)
The plot is simple, so don't hesitate to join us even if you've just arrived!
Oh, and if you can, don't hesitate to volunteer for a late-night shift!