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“MR. PRESIDENT, I rise today to address the record number of filibusters in the Senate,...” So might begin the transcript in the Congressional Record if a senator were to discuss what may well be the most pivotal issue in American public policy these days — the filibuster and its only antidote: a cloture vote that ends debate. --snip-- “This is a sharp increase in the use of a filibuster as a routine mechanism,” said Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, a nonpartisan research group. “The Senate is set up culturally not to act on anything quickly. That’s a...

The Senate majority that voted yesterday to crush what is almost certainly the last opportunity to fix America's broken immigration system for at least two years was responding to constituents with unreasonable expectations. Flogged into a fury by talk-show agitators and Internet provocateurs, thousands of people called, wrote and e-mailed their senators to protest legislation they believed would do nothing to stop the flow of illegal entry into this country, would forgive millions of illegals already here and would burden taxpayers with the cost to schools and health care. No one is going to round up 12 million people here...

The Senate's three Democratic presidential hopefuls — Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Barack Obama — voted to advance the bill. Among Republicans, John McCain voted to keep the measure alive and Sam Brownback did likewise before changing his vote after defeat was obvious. "Immigration is going to have to wait until we get a new president and a new Congress," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after a 46-53 procedural vote Thursday derailed efforts to move the bill toward final passage. The House also is almost certain to dodge the issue, with leaders of both parties hoping...

Joe can go back to tending his garden properly; Jenny can pick up the needlepoint all over again. All over America today the American people are breathing a sigh of relief and starting to resume their lives. We won another battle to keep our country strong, we fought back the foes who would sell out our country and we did so with such heat and enthusiasm, that we shut down the senate phones because so many Americans dropped what they were doing and stood up to the government and told them you work for us. This is proud day, a...

At 10:50, EST, the cloture vote is scheduled to start. I am going to be watching it live on C-Span 2 and reporting with news as soon as it becomes available. Refresh to see updates of this post. 11:00: Harry Reid is still blathering on, over time, and we're still waiting to vote. 11:03: Here we go. 11:04: They're not showing each vote as it goes through, so it doesn't look like we'll know the count until it's over. 11:07: This is nerve wracking. 11:11: They called out some of the no votes. I noticed Gordon Smith was one of...

The DemoRATS are taking out their frustrations on Sen. DeMitt for dare to speak a request! It is going on now, if you missed it, watch it again tonight! After this vote they might return to their attempt to shame DeMitt.

I don't know if this is going to pass posting rule muster, but its just so darn good and germaine: Adios!!!!

Say, how come there are 47 yes votes when the roll says there were only 46? Ah, my friends, that’s because Sam Brownback turned out to be the weaseliest “no” vote of all. He voted yes right at the very beginning, during the alphabetical vote, probably thinking that cloture was going to pass. Then, when it died, he switched to a no. I almost wish he was pulling more than 1% in the presidential polls so we could hammer him into oblivion with that. As it is, I’ve captured his moment of shame for posterity on video. I think that’s...

Senators voted to continue discussions on amnesty.

The bill has died. Trust me, no one will be sitting shiva for it at HH.com, and not just because I’m the only one who knows what “sitting shiva” means. Actually, Medved also knows what “sitting shiva” means, and maybe he’ll be doing it on behalf of everyone else at Townhall who is instead celebrating like it’s VJ Day. (Reports that Matt Lewis surprised Mary Katherine Ham with a kiss like the one seen in the picture of above are unconfirmed.) So where do we go from here? Let’s take ‘em one by one, starting with the biggest winners and...

Here is a spreadsheet detailing the votes on the immigration bill and its amendments. Excel 2003: http://www.sendspace.com/file/ou6kwa Excel 2007: http://www.sendspace.com/file/21i5ps It contains some statistics as well as contact information for each senator - please call or fax to let them know how you feel! The statistics at the right and bottom provide some add'l analysis to help focus your letters, emails, calls, etc.

Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), Yea Alexander (R-TN), Nay Allard (R-CO), Nay Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Baucus (D-MT), Nay Bayh (D-IN), Nay Bennett (R-UT), Yea Biden (D-DE), Yea Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Bond (R-MO), Nay Boxer (D-CA), Yea Brown (D-OH), Nay Brownback (R-KS), Nay Bunning (R-KY), Nay Burr (R-NC), Nay Byrd (D-WV), Nay Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Cardin (D-MD), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Clinton (D-NY), Yea Coburn (R-OK), Nay Cochran (R-MS), Nay Coleman (R-MN), Nay Collins (R-ME), Nay Conrad (D-ND), Yea Corker (R-TN), Nay Cornyn (R-TX), Nay Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Nay DeMint (R-SC), Nay...

The cloture vote on the 2007 Immigration Reform Bill looks like it will kick off at approximately 1100 hours. It will come down to four votes or less. Like I predicted several weeks ago, this one is going down like The Edmund Fitzgerald, the October 1929 DJIA and Senator Lindsey Graham’s favorability ratings. Most of the GOP gets this and understands well. The voters will remember and will punish those who betray us. Careers will end abruptly, if incumbent GOP Senators think they can ram this down our throats. While the proponents of the bill call the opponents a vocal...

Put Sen. Kit Bond (R., Mo.) in the no pile for cloture tomorrow, if his comments to Sean Hannity are any indication: BOND: What you call voting the right way, I can assure you, you and I agree on the substance, which is, this bill shouldn't go anywhere... This, I think, is worthy of debate, and certainly conservatives aren't afraid to debate. We wouldn't have Hannity and Colmes, and I'd miss out on all that fun. But this bill has amnesty in it and a lot of other problems so when the following 60 point — 60 vote cloture and...

3:59pm update. Vote is underway on tabling a Dodd amendment. Meantime, Noam Askew hears that Domenici will vote against cloture tomorrow. There’s buzz that Nelson and Bond are also likely no’s.

According to Insider(s), Burr, Brownback, Gregg, Nelson of Nebraska, and Webb are VERY good targets for switching against cloture (or perhaps not being there, which amounts to the same thing). Pryor, Bond, and Coleman are other serious possibilities. I am told, too, that Barbara Boxer remains decidedly unhappy with the bill, and is still a definite possibility to switch to the anti-cloture, anti-amnesty side. Others to watch are Collins and Snowe of Maine, who I had counted as lost causes but who apparently still might be open to persuasion.

It's the government that's broken!

A Republican senator from Kentucky says the so-called "comprehensive immigration reform" bill is completely unnecessary because there are already laws on the books the government has yet to enforce that will stop illegal aliens at the border. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is reportedly unsure whether he will support the immigration bill that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. McConnell tells Associated Press, "the bill on the merits is a mixed bag," and he won't decide how to vote on the measure until a series of amendments have been considered. But fellow Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning is...

We all remember the movie where Jimmy Stewart was standing on the floor of the Senate, exhausted and reduced to a rasping voice. That was the old way of filibustering. It required work. It required that the Senators be in attendance and continue the debate if they wanted to block a measure from a vote. Once the REAL debate was finished the Senate could vote without two thirds in attendance. Somebody didn't like the possibility of having to be on call for a surprise vote. But, wait! That’s work for these old chamber-mades. Granted, if the old filibuster rules existed...

Senate Leader [Kate O'Beirne] A veteran Senate aide reminded me that the essential function/core responsibility of a Senate majority or minority leader is to represent his party on procedural issues. This responsibility doesn't rest with other members of the party's Senate leadership. Speaking for his party on procedural issues defines the job of a Senate leader. A majority of Republican senators voted against cloture and Senator McConnell voted on the other side. Apparently, that's unprecedented.

June 26, 2007 – Brownback Immigration Update Senator Brownback voted in favor of cloture on the motion to proceed to the immigration bill today. That means he voted to bring the bill back to the floor for debate and for amendments to be offered. This does NOT mean that Senator Brownback supports the immigration bill itself – he feels the bill needs to be improved. Brownback opposes amnesty, and believes first and foremost in securing our borders and ending illegal immigration. Brownback voted to debate the bill in the Senate but is withholding support for the bill until the amendment...

Following up on this morning’s post, I’ve started a new thread for the second round of Senate floor debate on shamnesty. It’s 2:31pm Eastern and the Senate is waiting for a member to come to the floor to speak. Rich Miniter has a memo outlining the clay pigeon strategy. Like I said, we’ll see if it flies today. Meantime, where do we go from here? Bryan Preston says fight. Ok, then. Are you in the mood to make calls and hold ship-jumping, pro-amnesty Senators to account? Good. Here’s a list of targets that’s circulating on the Hill: Brownback (split with...

WASHINGTON — Months of tumultuous negotiations with the White House and GOP allies have brought the Senate's liberal lion, Edward M. Kennedy, to the brink of passing a bill to legalize up to 12 million unlawful immigrants. But his concessions to get there have alienated liberals who in the past have counted him as their strongest champion. A showdown test vote is scheduled today, and the Senate could pass — or reject — the bill by week's end. Traditional Kennedy allies are angry at the Massachusetts senator's willingness to accept Republican-backed measures such as subjecting illegal immigrants to steep fines...

Grouped By Vote Position YEAs ---64 Akaka (D-HI) Bennett (R-UT) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Bond (R-MO) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brownback (R-KS) Burr (R-NC) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Clinton (D-NY) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Craig (R-ID) Dodd (D-CT) Domenici (R-NM) Durbin (D-IL) Ensign (R-NV) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Kyl (R-AZ) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murkowski (R-AK)...

Senate will reconvene at 2:30pm to argue cloture. CSPAN indicates that Sen. Reid will use a "little known procedure known as the 'clay pidgeon rule'" to limit the number of amendments to as few as one.

I just got off the phone with someone at Norm Coleman's office. I told them that I was a constituent as well as financial supporter. I asked if they knew how the Senator was planning on voting. I was informed that the Senator will vote for cloture today because he feels the 24 amendments should be voted upon. As for final passage of the bill, I was told that he's still undecided. I politely informed the staff person that I wasn't sure that I'd be around in 2008 (financially and volunteer-wise) if the Senator votes for cloture. She sounded mildly...

This story via a blogger who I won't name until he says it's all right to do so. Okay, he said it's all right -- it's Phin of Agent Bedhead, who also is the guy currently fixing this awful site. (He's really good!) Another update: Ask for "Allie"! She's the Burr shill whose either so misinformed or mendacious as to be claiming to people that the cloture vote isn't "real." Only the vote on the bill itself -- virtually guaranteed passage! -- is the "real" vote, where Burr will probably cast a knowingly-meaningless symbolic vote against. Douchebag-- we care not...

UPDATE, 10:30 p.m. — Porkopolis was his usual tenacious self, and copied me on an e-mail response he received from Ms. Garrett A.K. Silverman, George Voinovich’s Press Secretary, which is as follows: While Sen. Voinovich thinks the current bill is far from perfect, he strongly supports border security and a way to bring people out of the shadows. He will continue to try to make this bill better—in his eyes, the status quo is not a possibility. I don’t take a lot of comfort in that.UPDATE: Just heard Hannity mention Voinovich as not having decided and quote (without appellation, but...

Stopping amnesty is entirely within the power of senators who oppose it. Later today, the Senate will vote on whether to proceed on the bill. To revive the once-stalled bill will require 60 votes, which means that if the senators who vote no and the senators who don’t vote add up to 41, the bill is dead. The best vote count now has 33 no votes plus the non-vote of the ill Sen. Tim Johnson. Assuming this count is accurate, only seven more are needed to stop amnesty. Seven Who Could Stop Amnesty 06/26 Those votes are available from a...

Cloture Buy-Offs [Rich Lowry] One method supporters of the bill are apparently using to good effect is to promise senators votes on their amendments to get them to vote for cloture. This is working even when it is amendments that have no chance of passing. For instance, Sen. Bond's office tells me that he is going to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed. He will then offer an amendment that has made the approved list to strip out the path of citizenship in the bill (meaning no green cards). This will inevitably fail. In which case, Bond will...

Latest on the Cloture Vote for the Immigration Deal [Jim Geraghty] Just spoke to a spokesman for a Republican opposed to the deal, and helping lead the opposition. Here's what we know right now: 1. Tomorrow is the first test, on the vote to bring it back to the floor. Deal supporters need 60. Opponents think they have about 33-35 right now, so they only need about five to seven more. Kirkorian's earlier Corner post was praised for its accuracy. Some Republicans on the fence are going to try to have it both ways - vote to bring it back...

Liveblogging the debate on the Senate floor... 8pm Eastern. There's a motion to compel attendance of absent senators. Sergeant-at-arms sent out to look for the absentees. Attempting get a quorum of 51 on the floor. Where are the missing senators? FAIR sent out this alert that may give a clue: FAIR has learned that instead of debating amendments on the floor, Senators this afternoon are hiding behind closed doors, drafting a massive, 400-page amendment that will replace huge chunks of the Bush-Kennedy bill currently being debated. Senate leaders are hoping to use the new substitute amendment to reverse changes made...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A sharply divided Senate on Thursday threw into doubt the fate of the plan backed by President George W. Bush to revamp U.S. immigration laws. The Senate fell 27 votes short of the 60 needed to advance the bill toward a final vote, dealing a serious blow to the comprehensive effort to overhaul immigration law before Bush leaves office in January 2009. The bill, which has drawn fire from both the right and the left, ties tough border security and workplace enforcement measures to a plan to legalize most of the 12 million illegal immigrants

WASHINGTON - A fragile compromise that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants risks coming unraveled after the Senate voted early Thursday to place a five-year limit on a program meant to provide U.S. employers with 200,000 temporary foreign workers annually. The reversal dismayed backers of the immigration bill, which is supported by President Bush but loathed by many conservatives. Business interests and their congressional allies were already angry that the temporary worker program had been cut in half from its original 400,000-person-a-year target. Until the Dorgan vote was tallied, Specter and other leaders of the so-called "grand bargain" on immigration...

A landmark attempt to reform US immigration laws and grant a path to citizenship for around 12 million illegal immigrants faces its most crucial test yet in a moment of high political drama Thursday. Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has scheduled a device known as a cloture vote on limiting time for debate on the package, in an effort to force it through the Senate this week. Republicans, many of whom are under intense pressure from conservative supporters over the bill, have however complained that Reid's move would thwart a sheaf of amendments they wish to debate, and want...

That means debate on the motion to proceed is over and debate on the bill itself can begin. Why do that when most senators haven’t even read the bill yet? Because, silly, they want to get it passed before people realize what’s in it and fully how awful it is. Like Captain Ed says, they waited 21 years to do something about illegal immigration — and now they can’t wait three weeks more? Flagrantly, arrogantly antidemocratic; in Jeff Sessions’s words, “a railroad job.” Kennedy and McCain had been hoping to ram it through the Senate by Memorial Day but now...

Critics of President George Bush were foiled tonight as they tried to push through an anti-war motion in the US Senate. Republicans mustered sufficient votes to thwart a Democratic move to rebuke the President over his deployment of 21,500 extra combat troops. The vote was 56-34 - short of the 60 needed to advance the measure, which is identical to a nonbinding resolution that Democrats pushed through the House of Representatives on Friday. "The Senate, on behalf of the American people, must make it clear to the commander in chief that he no longer has a rubber stamp in Iraq,"...

CSPAN report 72 for to 25 against.

Post results of the vote.

I’m trying to understand what’s going on in Senate until Tuesday. I call them ‘steps’ to make it easier for me. Please educate me if my understanding is wrong. Step 1 Debates, which ended Thursday, or perhaps continue until Monday afternoon. Step 2a Democrats are trying to keep the debates going as long as possible, but Frist has filed for cloture of the debates. So, on Monday 5:30p, they’ll have a vote for the cloture. To pass (ie, to stop the debate), they need 60 senators to vote ‘yes’. Even though the nature is basically identical (keep the debates going),...

"Senator Clinton will vote against cloture, thereby supporting the filibuster of Judge Alito’s nomination," said Philippe Reines, press secretary to Sen. Clinton.

HONOLULU (AP) _ Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka says he opposes blocking a vote on Samuel Alito's nomination to serve on the U-S Supreme Court. Akaka said today he wouldn't support a filibuster because the Senate has heard Alito's positions in confirmation hearings. Akaka says he would vote against confirming Alito to the court because he has concerns about whether Alito would uphold anti-discrimination laws allowed under the Constitution. Akaka also says he's worried Alito would work to give the president more power.

Contact: Press Office 202-863-8614  “To even suggest a filibuster against a nominee as qualified as Judge Alito reflects a philosophy so out of touch that it’s bordering on reckless. The judicial confirmation process, particularly one for the nation’s highest court, should be insulated from such thoughtless bomb throwing in an effort to remain relevant. One can't help but wonder if the consummate candidate was for Judge Alito, before he was against him.”-Tracey Schmitt, RNC Press Secretary SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA) CALLS IN ALITO FILIBUSTER FROM SWITZERLAND“Sen. John Kerry Has Decided To Support A Filibuster To Block The Nomination Of Judge Samuel...

Wolf Blizer on "The Situation Room" reported that the republicans have more then enough votes for cloture, as many as 70. Looks like Kerry jumped the gun a bit too fast.

Let's just continue this on the thread already created...I just wanted to alert those of us just logging onto FR...the Senate is bubbling with activity right now. Something appears to be happening, and it apparently has to do with either the Patriot Act or the Defense Bill. The Defense bill was blocked earlier by a MINORITY of Senators who think we still need to be dependent upon foreign oil.Maria Cantwell called the blocked Defense bill a "victory for our troops". Of course, she was standing right by John Kery when she said that. The 'rats are disgusting. And the Republicans...

WASHINGTON -- Super-lobbyist Ed Gillespie has been given his own office in the West Wing of the White House to manage President Bush's Supreme Court confirmation battle. That raised speculation Gillespie could be chief of staff for the end of the Bush presidency. Republican lobbyists Ken Duberstein and Tom Korologos were given judicial confirmation chores in years past without moving permanently into the West Wing. Insiders believe Gillespie, a protege of Bush political adviser Karl Rove, is being groomed to replace Andrew Card as chief of staff for Bush's last two years as president. Less than a decade ago, Gillespie...

1. The Constitution gives the President the power, when necessary, of direct appointment to federal Judicial and high Executive branch positions. This is through the recess appointment. 2. The Constitution gives the Senate the power to create their own rules; and apparently rules can be made that subvert other sections of the Constitution. This has been proven in the Senate's subversion, via the filibuster, of their Constitutional requirement to advise and consent on the President's nominees to higher courts and executive branch positions. 3. Based on the President's recess appointment power, this obstructionism of the Senate can be overcome, but...

Senate Republicans fell six votes short of the 60 needed to end the Democrat-led filibuster of John Bolton, nominated by President Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "It's disappointing that Senate Democrats are more committed to obstructionism than they are to reforming the United Nations," the Republican National Committee said in a press release. "President Bush nominated John Bolton because he is the right man to reform the United Nations and he has clear majority support. By continuing to put partisan politicking above the interest of the American people, Democrats in Washington show their true colors,...

Last night, Senate Democrats reaffirmed their commitment to the “agenda of the roadblock.....” Voinovich has enjoyed so much positive press due to his bucking the Republican Party, that he has now changed his vote on the cloture matter and urging President Bush to revoke Bolton’s nomination.... President Bush is right to get Bolton confirmed with a recess appointment, but I hope it does not come to it. If he chooses to, the international press and the American left will label this maneuver an abuse of power and a sign of a politically weakened President. They are wrong, but they will...