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filibuster

With confirmation fast approaching, Democrats need to pick up one more vote against DeVos.

At noon on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, the U.S. Senate will vote on President Donald Trump's secretary of Education nominee.

This is normal. What's happening in the 24 hours leading up to the vote, on the other hand, is not normal at all.

In an effort to win over one of their Republican colleagues, Senate Democrats are pulling an all-night filibuster as they take turns making the case against Betsy DeVos, Trump's choice to head the Department of Education. For 24 hours, Democrats plan to hold the floor in the run-up to a vote that may very well determine the future of America's public education system.

DeVos speaks during her confirmation hearing on Jan. 17, 2017. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images.

Two Republicans have already indicated plans to vote against DeVos. It'll take at least one more vote to tip the scales.

Last week, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) came forward to announce that they would not vote to confirm DeVos. With the 46 Democrats, two Independents, and now two Republicans lining up against DeVos, it looks like there are 50 votes for confirmation and 50 votes against.

Should the vote end up being a tie, Vice President Mike Pence has indicated that he will cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm DeVos as the next Education secretary.

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There are a number of reasons to oppose DeVos' nomination that should have people on both sides of the aisle feeling a bit nervous.

For one, DeVos has never attended or worked in a public school, her children have all gone to private schools, and she has no experience working in government or education. There's also the fact that she's a proponent of shifting tax dollars from public schools to charter programs in an effort to "advance God's kingdom" through the education system.

And finally, there's the simple matter of her nomination being "pay-to-play" politics at its absolute worst. DeVos and her family have donated more than $200 million to Republicans through the years. In 1997, she even wrote, "I have decided to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. ... We do expect something in return. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues. We expect a return on our investment."

Additionally, DeVos had a pretty disastrous confirmation hearing in which she suggested that guns in schools might be a good idea because of bears, showed ignorance about a federal disability law, dodged questions about protecting LGBTQ students and victims of sexual assault, and made it abundantly clear why her confirmation appears to be the one cabinet nomination that may not meet the required 51-vote threshold.

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So far, the filibuster is off to a strong start, as Democratic senators implore their colleagues to prioritize the welfare of America's students over party lines.

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No matter how this vote goes, it's good to see the Senate living up to its potential as one of the world's great deliberative bodies.

If there's a case to be made against (or for) DeVos, it will most certainly be made between now and tomorrow's vote. The exchange of ideas and action that follows is democracy in action.

It's even better to know that elected officials take into account what constituents think. Sen. Murkowski indicated that her decision to vote "no" was influenced by "thousands of Alaskans who have shared their concerns about Mrs. DeVos as Secretary of Education, by phone, in person, by email and through petition."

Between now and when the Senate votes on DeVos, there's still time for constituents to take action — whether it's calling their senators to thank them for their vote against DeVos or trying to convince them to change their minds.

If you're interested in calling but aren't sure what to say? No worries. 5 Calls is a great resource for calling your elected officials on any topic.

Watch the 24-hour action from the Senate floor filibuster here:

LIVE: Senate Dems protest Betsy DeVos
WATCH LIVE: Democrats in the Senate will hold the floor all night to protest the nomination of Betsy DeVos to secretary of Education.
Posted by The Hill on Monday, February 6, 2017

Sen. Orrin Hatch wants to save the filibuster.

In recent years, the filibuster has become an increasingly important part of how our government operates (or, when used to the extreme, how it doesn'toperate).

Right now, in the wake of the election, there's an important battle about the filibuster beginning to form that could help shape the future of our country for decades to come.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) speaks after waging an almost 15-hour filibuster to force a vote on gun control on June 15, 2016. Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images.

The filibuster is an old parliamentary tool that allows the minority party to band together to block or delay a piece of legislation. When the results rolled in on election night and the Republican party found itself holding the majority of all three branches of government, there was talk of trying to weaken the filibuster rules. Doing so would make it nearly impossible for Democrats in Congress to outvote their Republican colleagues or get enough votes to get their own bills passed.

Make no mistake: This is something the Republican Party could do if it wanted, when it sets the new set of standing rules in the Senate come January. All it takes is a simple majority of 51 votes (there will be 51 Republican senators at the start of the new session). There's even the so called "nuclear option," which would eliminate the filibuster altogether. But it likely won't, and what makes this interesting is who is resisting weakening the filibuster rules and what they're arguing for.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, the chamber's longest-serving Republican, is standing up for ... Senate Democrats.

Hatch, who has served nearly 40 years in the Senate, knows a thing or two about the importance of minority powers as a form of checks and balances.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Republicans will take control of the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate in January — something that's only been the case for four years of Hatch's tenure. It's a unique position to be in, for sure — one that many of his Republican colleagues are surely thrilled about.

Hatch thinks that eliminating the filibuster would be a very bad idea, and he's probably right.

The only thing standing in the way of enacting Republicans' plans — which could include everything from repealing health care reform to making crucial changes to Social Security and Medicare — is the filibuster. Without it, there's barely a reason for the Democratic minority to show up to work in the morning, and there's no incentive for Republicans to seek compromise.

President-elect Donald Trump meets with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images.

That, in part, is why Hatch thinks we need to leave the filibuster as is.

"Are you kidding?" Hatch responded to a question asked by The Huffington Post about ending the filibuster. "I’m one of the biggest advocates for the filibuster. It’s the only way to protect the minority, and we’ve been in the minority a lot more than we’ve been in the majority. It’s just a great, great protection for the minority."

Yes, the party in power should (and will) control the congressional agenda. That doesn't mean it should cut others out of the process entirely.

When the party in the minority abuses the filibuster and uses it to stop everything being pushed through by the majority party, it's easy to see why some would want to do away with it (especially those in the majority). When they were in power, Democrats vented their frustrations about the Republicans' tendency to use the filibuster to block everything from pieces of legislation to federal judgeships.

Politics works best when those participating do so with a sense of compromise in their approach.

In 2013, Senate Democrats criticized Republicans' use of the filibuster. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

In January, as the Senate convenes for a new session, they'll vote on a new set of rules to determine whether or not to keep the filibuster.

Sure, wiping it out would clear the way for Republicans to get what they want right now. But as Hatch said, he knows what it's like being in the minority party. Come 2018, 2020, 2022, or 2024, the Democrats might regain control of Congress. There's no such thing as a permanent majority in U.S. politics.

Hatch, at 82 years old, is thinking to the future, even if it makes him a little less popular with his party in the present. Here's hoping his colleagues follow his lead, as some have already signaled they will.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

17 hours of work paid off for the Connecticut senator.

At 11:21 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, Sen. Chris Murphy took the floor of the Senate, vowing not to leave until his colleagues agreed to take action on gun control.

For nearly 15 hours, Murphy — with the help of more than 30 other senators — delivered a series of speeches in hopes of getting the Senate to take action on two amendments. The first amendment would require background checks for guns purchased online or at gun shows and the second would be on whether or not to prevent people on the "no fly" terror watch list from buying guns.

It was a long shot, but after the massacre in Orlando, Murphy wasn't about to sit idly by.

Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images.

The filibuster's most powerful moment came at its closing when Murphy shared the story of Dylan Hockley, a 6-year-old who was killed during the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.

Dylan was one of 20 students who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Dylan's teacher Anne Marie Murphy (no relation to the senator) died trying to shield the child from gunfire.

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

Sen. Murphy challenged his colleagues to follow in the footsteps of Dylan's brave teacher.

"Anne Marie Murphy made the most courageous decision that anyone could imagine," said Senator Murphy. "Instead of running, instead of hiding, instead of panicking, Anne Marie Murphy found Dylan Hockley and embraced him. Know why we know that? When the police entered the classroom, that’s how they found Dylan Hockley. Dead. Wrapped in the embrace of Anne Marie Murphy."

"It doesn’t take courage to stand here on the floor of the United States Senate for two hours or six hours or 14 hours. It doesn’t take courage to stand up to the gun lobby when 90% of your constituents want change to happen. It takes courage to look into the eye of a shooter and instead of running, wrapping your arms around a 6-year-old boy and accepting death as a trade for just a tiny little bitty piece of increased peace of mind for a little boy under your charge."

GIF via C-SPAN.

By night's end, Murphy got what he wanted: assurance that the Senate would hold votes on the amendments.

It's doubtful either will pass, but getting these amendments to the floor for an up or down vote is a strong start. The NRA stands in opposition to both amendments. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, however, supports banning members of the terrorist watch list and says he plans to speak with the gun advocacy group.

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We need to fight against the impulse to by cynical. We need to believe that change can happen.

It's a huge and welcome relief to see Murphy and his colleagues in the Senate working to make that change happen.

Orlando, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Fort Hood, San Bernardino, Aurora — the list of preventable gun tragedies goes on. It's easy to feel cynical, to lose hope for change. After all, the country didn't take any meaningful action on gun control after 20 children were gunned down in Newtown.

But on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, Chris Murphy showed that while sweeping change might still be a ways off, change is possible.

The fight for equality didn't end with gay marriage. 5 acts of bravery you should know.

On June 26, 2015, love won. The Supreme Court ruled states cannot ban same-sex marriage.

There were quickie weddings. There were happy tears. There were rainbow filters on Facebook.

At the time, 60% of Americans felt same-sex marriages should be legally valid, so for many, it was a long-overdue celebration. Even the White House got in on the fun.

Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images.

But while most of us celebrated, sore losers and enemies of progress in every corner of the country got to work on anti-LGBT legislation, often described as "religious freedom" bills.

Anti-equality officials introduced these bills hoping businesses and individuals could cite religion as a reason to deny service or goods to LGBT people. Some of the potential laws were just related to marriage-related goods (think bakeries, florists, tailors), while others went even further, trying to allow taxpayer-funded foster care and adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT parents and prospective parents.

Don't get it twisted: This isn't religious freedom. It's bigotry and bullying.

And in 2015, over 115 of these bills were introduced at the state and local level in 31 states.

Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma speaks to the legislature about the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

But when faced with cruelty and injustice, many brave people have stepped up to fight back.

You may not know their names or live in their cities, but these men and women are on the front lines continuing to fight for equality long after the confetti dropped.

They're the unsung heroes of a movement that didn't end in June 2015. And today, I'm singing their praises.

1. The members of the Charlotte City Council who passed a nondiscrimination ordinance despite the governor and legislature throwing shade.

The new ordinance added sexual orientation and gender identity to long-standing protections like race, religion, and age. Bars, restaurants, taxis, and stores in Charlotte can't discriminate against customers because they're gay or transgender.

The ordinance passed on a 7-4 vote after a heated three-hour public meeting. But in North Carolina, the state government can overrule city decisions, and legislators may strike down some or all of the new law.

2. The governor of South Dakota, who vetoed an unnecessary bill affecting the lives of transgender kids.

The mean-spirited bill, which would have required transgender kids to use the bathroom or locker room of the gender they were assigned at birth, shouldn't even have made it to the governor's desk.

Luckily, Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed the bill and put an end to the madness.

The presidents on Mount Rushmore may or may not be crying about the state of things in South Dakota. Photo by Always Shooting/Flickr (cropped).

3. The 400+ businesses that essentially told Georgia, "This is a terrible idea."

Discrimination is bad for businesses. Period.

That's why companies like Microsoft, Unilever, and Delta (which employs more than 30,000 Georgians) spoke out against Georgia House Bill 757, which would allow faith-based organizations to refuse education, charitable, or social services based on religious beliefs relating to marriage. The bill passed last week, but Gov. Nathan Deal says he will veto it.

Founder of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson was one of the executives who publicly denounced House Bill 757. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

4. The Missouri Democrats who broke a record filibustering an anti-LGBT bill.

The eight members of the Democratic caucus began their filibuster on Monday, March 7, around 4 p.m. It continued for 39 hours into Tuesday evening, breaking a state record. It was done to prevent the passage of SJR 39, a bill that would write discriminatory language into the Missouri constitution.

The herculean effort made national news, and presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton tweeted their support. The filibuster worked temporarily, but the legislative session runs through May.

5. The Utah state senator who coughed and sneezed his way through a mini-filibuster.

When the legislature tried to rush a vote on an anti-LGBT bill with just three minutes left in the legislative session, state Sen. Jim Dabakis was having none of it. Instead, Dabakis, the only openly gay member of the Utah legislature, did what any hero in plain clothes would do: He stalled.

When it was his turn for the voice vote, Dabakis coughed, sneezed, and appeared to ponder his decision. Though the Senate president caught on and moved the vote along, it was too late and the bill was defeated.

You can see the vote and hear Dabakis' cheer-worthy stall in the video below.

All of these fearless acts of patriotism have taken place in the past month.

Coast to coast, the battle for equality and civil rights continues. Consider this is your wake-up call. But you don't need to be a local politician or business owner to make a difference.

You can help right now.

Vote. Speak up when you see discriminatory bills get traction in your city or state. Vote. Keep up with local news. Vote. Try not to get distracted by the glitz and gossip of the presidential election, as ordinances and laws passed locally have just as much — if not more — impact. Oh, and vote. Every election. Every time.

Because nothing, especially hate, beats an engaged, active citizenry.

Marriage-equality supporters protest at the federal courthouse in Ashland, Kentucky. Photo by Ty Wright/Getty Images.

filibuster

HAPPENING NOW: Senate Democrats host a 24-hour marathon to stop Betsy DeVos.

With confirmation fast approaching, Democrats need to pick up one more vote against DeVos.

At noon on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, the U.S. Senate will vote on President Donald Trump's secretary of Education nominee.

Two Republicans have already indicated plans to vote against DeVos. It'll take at least one more vote to tip the scales.

There are a number of reasons to oppose DeVos' nomination that should have people on both sides of the aisle feeling a bit nervous.

So far, the filibuster is off to a strong start, as Democratic senators implore their colleagues to prioritize the welfare of America's students over party lines.

No matter how this vote goes, it's good to see the Senate living up to its potential as one of the world's great deliberative bodies.

Watch the 24-hour action from the Senate floor filibuster here:

The Senate's longest-serving Republican is standing up for Democrats — for a smart reason.

Sen. Orrin Hatch wants to save the filibuster.

In recent years, the filibuster has become an increasingly important part of how our government operates (or, when used to the extreme, how it doesn'toperate).

Sen. Orrin Hatch, the chamber's longest-serving Republican, is standing up for ... Senate Democrats.

Hatch thinks that eliminating the filibuster would be a very bad idea, and he's probably right.

Yes, the party in power should (and will) control the congressional agenda. That doesn't mean it should cut others out of the process entirely.

In January, as the Senate convenes for a new session, they'll vote on a new set of rules to determine whether or not to keep the filibuster.

A U.S. senator's filibuster helped nudge the government toward action on gun control.

17 hours of work paid off for the Connecticut senator.

At 11:21 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, Sen. Chris Murphy took the floor of the Senate, vowing not to leave until his colleagues agreed to take action on gun control.

The filibuster's most powerful moment came at its closing when Murphy shared the story of Dylan Hockley, a 6-year-old who was killed during the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.

Sen. Murphy challenged his colleagues to follow in the footsteps of Dylan's brave teacher.

By night's end, Murphy got what he wanted: assurance that the Senate would hold votes on the amendments.

It's a huge and welcome relief to see Murphy and his colleagues in the Senate working to make that change happen.

The fight for equality didn't end with gay marriage. 5 acts of bravery you should know.

On June 26, 2015, love won. The Supreme Court ruled states cannot ban same-sex marriage.

But while most of us celebrated, sore losers and enemies of progress in every corner of the country got to work on anti-LGBT legislation, often described as "religious freedom" bills.

But when faced with cruelty and injustice, many brave people have stepped up to fight back.

1. The members of the Charlotte City Council who passed a nondiscrimination ordinance despite the governor and legislature throwing shade.

2. The governor of South Dakota, who vetoed an unnecessary bill affecting the lives of transgender kids.

3. The 400+ businesses that essentially told Georgia, "This is a terrible idea."

4. The Missouri Democrats who broke a record filibustering an anti-LGBT bill.

5. The Utah state senator who coughed and sneezed his way through a mini-filibuster.

All of these fearless acts of patriotism have taken place in the past month.

They did it 86 times to every other president combined. 82 times to Obama alone.

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