Three Republic Senators to now vote for cloture tomorrow

[AnnInLa]

according to www.talkingpointsmemo.com

Snowe, Collins and Warner

[mod mom]

1. Now 4! Gordon Smith is also being reported at the link!

Fourth GOP Senator To Back Dems' Anti-Escalation Resolution
By Eric Kleefeld | bio
Here's another Republican Senator who intends to break ranks and support Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid's new move to bring an anti-escalation resolution up for a vote tomorrow: Senator Gordon Smith.

Smith's press secretary, R.C. Hammond, tells Election Central that Smith will vote for cloture, despite Minority Leader Mitch McConell's call for Republicans to block a vote.

Smith had previously voted against cloture on the earlier Warner measure, joining with GOPers upset with Reid's refusal to bring up an additional resolution of support for funding of the troops. Smith subsequently signed on to a letter with six other GOP Senators about their determination to bring the Warner anti-surge resolution to the floor.

[POAS]

2. That sounds about right to me.

Still short of 60. BUT:

I don't know that they need to vote cloture on the concurrent resolutin that the house will send over, I may be wrong but I thought the cloture would be on the Senate Resolution Debate debate!

[Warren Stupidity]

4. If there is no senate resolution there is nothing to concur on.

They have to actually bring a resolution to the floor, and that cannot happen without 60 votes.

[Beelzebud]

3. All these procedures confuse me. What exactly does this mean?

I'm learning, but I still don't understand some of these procedural moves. Enlighten please. :)

[mod mom]

5. Cloture:

cloture - The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/cloture.htm

[ticapnews]

8. I say let them filibuster...

If they want to pull a Strom Thurmond and stage a protest on the floor and read Dickens, Hemingway or the phone book, go right ahead. They literally cannot hold the floor forever. Once they all keel over exhausted, call for a vote and be done with it.

[sandnsea]

12. This is how filibuster is done now

It's the vote. When Republicans blocked the vote before, it was a filibuster. I don't know why it wasn't called what it was. There really isn't the Mr Smith kind of filibuster anymore, I also don't know why people like Tweety keep referring to it. He knows better.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

6. There Needs To Be 60 Yea Votes For Cloture

Cloture enables them to debate the bill, and procede to a vote on it.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. google cloture

The senate rules allow 41 senators to block the progress of legislation. There are exceptions: I believe that budget bills cannot be blocked. A vote for cloture ends a filibuster. A filibuster in turn prevents a bill or other matters on the agenda from being acted on.

[KharmaTrain]

9. A Resolution Is Not Like Passing A Bill

Another term is "Sense Of The Senate". This is usually used to name a post office or some non-confrontation thing that is akin to a vote of what is known as a "supermajority" of 60 votes.

Reid is playing poker here to see if he can leave 3 or 4 GOOPers on the line and force them to vote for this resolution or face the possibility of others coming along. This is a political powderkeg for any Repugnican in a blue state up for re-election next year as they're forced to vote between party loyalty and going against what 60 or more percent of the voters in their state believe.

Now if I know my rules well enough, if the House were to pass out a bill with some kind of rider attached that condemned the surge, that could be brought to the Senate floor and passed on a simple majority of 51.

[Jacobin]

10. All I can think of is Joe forking Lieberman

and how we have to have an extra republican come over to deal with that shmuck

[Mass]

11. Unfortunately, they will need 11.

They need 60 votes. Lieberman will vote NO. Johnson is absent. This makes 49 Democratic YES votes (assuming Landrieu will be there - She was not there for the previous vote). It will take 11 Republican senators voting YES on cloture for this to pass.

[cali]

13. Yeah, but these defections put a lot of pressure

on the leadership- particularly as they know that the dems will repeatedly bring it back, and they'll find more of their colleagues defecting.