Reid Move Forces Real Filibuster, Traps GOP »
BY MICHAEL MCAULIFF
Harry Reid may have voted with Republicans this evening against taking up the financial reform bill. But he wasn’t doing them any favors.
Reid voted “No” in a procedural move that, under Senate rules, lets him bring the issue back up at any time — likely tomorrow. And, he engineered a vote — on a simple majority just a bit ago that is forcing senators to come back to the floor, with the sergeant at arms requesting the presence of absent senators.
It’s almost like a real, old-fashioned filibuster, except it’s Democrats streaming to the floor and railing against the GOP for blocking financial regulatory reform and defending Wall Street.
This, in theory, could go on all night, but is expected to end around 9 p.m. And, if Reid wants to keep voting with his friends on the other side of the aisle, he could continue this tactic pretty much as long as he wants.
You can expect repeated blasts at the GOP. They surely knew Democrats intended to hammer them, but we don’t think they saw this coming.