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Filibuster

The World

Politics, policy and The Tea Party: the top 5 things to look for in the new congress

Global Politics

The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, looks at the new Congress and the top five things to watch out for in 2011.

The World

Congress approves legislation to extend unemployment benefits

Conflict & Justice

Marathon filibuster kills abortion bill, puts Texas Senator into national spotlight

Global Politics

Rand Paul uses 13-hour filibuster to stall John Brennan’s ultimately successful nomination

Global Politics

Gridlock for climate bill

Global Politics

Are Filibusters Used Outside the United States?

Conflict & Justice

Filibusters are pretty common here in the US but it’s a tradition that often strikes outsiders as strange. We wanted to find out more about filibusters: Where do they come from and what other countries, if any, use them?

Texas Abortion Bill Fails to Pass After Filibuster

Around midnight last night, the Texas Senate shutdown Senator Wendy Davis’s (D-Fort Worth)  nearly 11 hour filibuster meant to prevent the passage of Senate Bill 5, a restrictive abortion law. The Republican sponsored bill is one of the toughest in the country. It would prevent abortions after 20 weeks and force the closure of all but […]

Senate Will Debate Gun Control Proposal

With a vote of 68 to 31, the Senate overcame the threat of a filibuster to begin a debate on gun control yesterday. Debate will begin next week, but the future of this legislation is uncertain. Tom Diaz, policy analyst for the Violence Policy Center and the author of “The Last Gun,” explores the possibilities […]

New Signs of Bipartisanship in Congress? Not Really.

If we’re to believe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both sides of the Senate are coming together as they strike a deal on filibuster reform. It’s not much, as critics are pointing out. This follows a glimmer of increased bipartisanship related to immigration reform which we also talked about on today’s show. But it sounds […]

Is The Filibuster Unconstitutional?

It’s hard to imagine the Senate without the filibuster, but now the non-profit group Common Cause is filing a lawsuit against the Supreme Court claiming that the notorious senate procedure is, in fact, unconstitutional. The Takeaway talks with the plaintiff’s attorney Emmet Bondurant and filibuster scholar Gregory Koger to find out where the filibuster came […]