Democratic Whip Richard Durbin made the following comment sometime in Sept of this year. "I listened to the statement made on the floor by the republican leader. It was a statement similar to one that was made yesterday...I am disappointed that this session of Congress has been so unproductive, but I know the reason why. It isn't for lack of effort...We have consistently run into the same problem over and over. In the last six years...the republicans have created 382 filibusters" (my emphasis). To my understanding the modern filibuster doesn't require a senator to take the floor and talk until he drops; it only requires a statement by the minority party that they intend to filibuster and if the majority party can not muster 60 votes to force a vote then the legislation is dead. Question: could it be true that there were 382 filibusters during President Obama's term?
(Source: "Yet another dysfunctional day" by Walter Pincus a columnist for the Washington Post. Printed in the Virginian Pilot on 9/26/12).
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