You know, the whole Mr. Smith Goes to Washington thing, where people will actually have to hold the floor and talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, AND TALK.

It would be on the Iraq withdrawal bill.

Some background: for about the past 30 years, when someone has declared the intent to filibuster, they take a cloture vote, and if it fails, the measure is pulled from the floor. No one is actually forced to do the Jimmy Stewart thing.

It was thought that this was a more efficient use of the Senate’s time, since while a filibuster is going on, nothing else can pass the floor.

The side effect of the change allowing filibusters without talking is that they have become far easier, and they are done on the small business too. Here is an illustrative graphic showing the trend:

Note that while I applaud the strategy, I feel that it does not go far enough.

The “non-filibuster filibuster” is a matter of courtesy, and it clear that part of the deal is that it not be abused. The courtesy should be completely eliminated. Require speeches for all filibusters.