Reply #8: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington doesn't happen anymore.

[backscatter712]

Unfortunately, that's due to rule changes as well - all the GOP has to do to maintain a filibuster is have one guy say the magic words "I suggest the absence of a quorum." and you get that scene on C-SPAN with the interlude music, the occasional Senator milling about on the floor, and nothing else. In the meantime, every single Democrat has to be there, 24/7, answering nonstop quorum calls, while the single Rethug sits there, saying "I suggest the absence of a quorum." over and over and over.

The most effective tactics to deal with filibusters are to send Senators to the news programs and talk show circuit, accuse the opposition of obstructionism, of collaborating with and being bought by radioactive interest groups (like Wall Street), and incessantly demand an up-or-down vote. That's what I think is going to happen in the next few days - the PR push to shame the GOP into caving.

Alternatively, one can take this bill, and attach it as an amendment to a must-pass bill, like a defense authorization bill or an appropriations bill, and dare the GOP to filibuster it and shut down the government.

John Straayer, one of the old-school political science professors where I go to school, predicts about two or three rounds of cloture vote attempts before the GOP caves. Wall Street is extremely radioactive right now, and the Democrats are going to make hay with that.