Happening now:
#NJ #Democrat #CoryBooker is delivering a #filibuster in the #Senate
For nonAmericans, it simply means you block all business as long as you can speak
He started at 7 PM Monday, and spoke through the night, and is still going as of 1 PM today
We need *a lot* more than that but it's a start
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347318/cory-booker-senate-speech
livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2utlMxAwtE
edit: it's not even a filler filibuster, where you read the dictionary or something empty, he's still on point the whole speech
addendum:
if you tune in you can see other speakers from the floor chiming in
these are other democrats helping cory out by giving him a small break, it's just using a quirk of the rules
congress has byzantine rules about how long someone can speak, who can respond, how long they can respond, etc, so it becomes a game
@benroyce
Ben, perhaps you can help this Canadian understand something (although I do feel I know more than the average American about how their government functions).
I recall hearing for decades about this ability for a single Senator to put a hold on a specific thing and "there's nothing that can be done about it". (more like they wouldn't do something).
I understood this as some rule that effectively was a virtual filibuster.
Is that the case and if so, why is he doing a real one?
@virtuous_sloth No, that is not the case.
In the Senate the rules are designed to seek consensus, to prevent any one senator to have that sort of control over the chamber.
People get this backwards a lot, and it's worth emphasizing that the politicians have interests in promoting that myth too. But basically, a senator can only direct the chamber with the consent of the chamber in general.
If a senator ever tries to do something that the chamber in general is not up for, the rest are able to vote and shut him down immediately.
But like I said, politicians love to be able to point fingers and pretend like they couldn't do anything about whatever's going on when otherwise they would have to take difficult votes.
That's how that myth gets promoted. But it's not true.
