Cory Booker has been filibustering for a while, but there’s no legislation that he’s stalling.

  • RedWizard [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    4 days ago

    The longest filibuster on record was a 1957 speech by then-Democratic Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina — in opposition to the Civil Rights Act — that lasted for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

    Media reported at the time that Thurmond sustained himself with “diced pumpernickel and bits of cooked hamburger” and sips of orange juice. His aides set up a bucket in the cloakroom so he could keep a foot on the Senate floor if he needed to relieve himself.

    Listen, if he can knock Strom Thurmond off the leaderboard, I guess that’s cool. Other than that, not sure what is to gain out of this. Seems pretty performative to me.

    • mathemachristian [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 days ago

      His aides set up a bucket in the cloakroom so he could keep a foot on the Senate floor if he needed to relieve himself.

      this is the kind of pointless rituals that you read about in stories of weird kings courts. “Nooo my foot hasnt crossed this line yet, so I can continue talking and while I am talking this law thats gonna affect over 100 million people cannot get voted on and if I am annoying enough the opposition is going to drop it!!” - a very serious legislative body

      If there isnt even a law being filibustered I guess it’s finally crossed the threshold into simulacrum

    • OldSoulHippie [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 days ago

      That’s literally it. At least when they teach who has the longest filibuster record, they won’t mention Thurmond anymore. I don’t remember exactly, but I feel like when I learned that tidbit in school, they left out the part where he was filibustering the civil rights act. They just focused on the feat and the fact that he “cared so deeply about his cause”

      • edge [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        4 days ago

        At least when they teach who has the longest filibuster record, they won’t mention Thurmond anymore.

        But that’s a perfect lesson for what the filibuster is and why it continues to exist.

        It’s a tool for the worst people in government to stop progress even without a majority.

        I honestly hope the record isn’t broken.

        they left out the part where he was filibustering the civil rights act

        Although yeah, it’s important to include that part.

        • FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          4 days ago

          It’s a tool for the worst people in government to stop progress even without a majority.

          It’s just a tool. If we actually had a single principled anti-imperialist senator they’d filibuster each bill granting Israel military aid by reading off names of Palestinians who were killed. Obviously in a proper democratic system this garbage wouldn’t exist, but you wouldn’t need to go to such extremes for democracy to work in a proper democratic system.

          • edge [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            3 days ago

            If we actually had a single principled anti-imperialist senator they’d filibuster each bill granting Israel military aid by reading off names of Palestinians who were killed.

            lol they would immediately end the filibuster if that happened. Or come up with some excuse for why they could end that specific filibuster.

            Though really, there would easily be 60 votes to break it anyway.