GOP Filibuster Of Gun Bill Beginning To Fall Apart
The threatened filibuster of the proposed gun control legislation in the Senate seems to be falling apart:
The planned GOP filibuster of gun-control legislation was losing steam on Tuesday, as more than half a dozen GOP lawmakers abandoned their conservative colleagues’ effort to block consideration of the bill.
“It’s incomprehensible to me that we would not move forward with debate and amendments on an issue this important to the American people,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Democrats and independent lawmakers who caucus with them control 55 seats in the Senate, though Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., has been ill and absent of late. If all of Democrats and allied independents toe the party line, then the newly announced GOP defections would likely be enough to overcome the threatened filibuster.
“I want to proceed to this bill. I want to debate it. I am not afraid of this bill,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. told reporters.
Some Republicans suggested their willingness to vote down the filibuster was tied to the right to attempt to amend the gun control legislation on the floor.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would file cloture Tuesday to force a vote later this week to proceed to the bill over the objections of a dozen GOP senators.
As I noted yesterday, the entire filibuster strategy never made sense to me anyway.
I’m sure there are a lot of Democrat senators crying today. Those who don’t have dense urban progs to protect them in the next vote. The filibuster was good for them. Now, they’ll have to vote knowing they’re going to have to face their irate constituents.
Twenty years, time to touch the hot stove again, I guess.
Heh, they can’t handle the pressure!
Onward!
@JKB:
Yeah for every 9 that hate them for it, they’ll have 91 loving them for it. I guess math is hard for you.
@OzarkHillbilly:
You are referring to a national poll using a question few have given deep thought to.
The Senators and especially the Representatives, have to face local voters who will know what is in the bill by the time they vote. I suspect Manchin is going to have a rough time in WV, no matter what the opinion on gun control is on the west side of Manhattan or in San Francisco.
@JKB:
Yeah, a couple hunters sitting in Nebraska, wishing they were in Colorado right now. One guy asks the other, “Man, this sucks. Why do we have to be so political?”
The background checks have major support. Better to just put them on the books and then hold the line against other more intrusive measures. Ya know, compromise.
@JKB:
Irate gun cultists? What else is new?
@James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb): Yes the exceedingly vague question about background checks polls quite well. Right up there with “should we be tough on crime?” and “should we stop murders from murdering?”,…
Much like the polls on Obamacare/ACA the devil is in the details. While for the ACA the details painted a better picture then the poll on the generic Obamacare I imagine a poll on a detailed policy for background checks will produce a different result then the generic “do you support background checks?”..