Passersby on Bruin Walk learned about the Constitution’s
fundamental ideas as well as recipes for various meals via a
megaphone Thursday.
The Bruin Democrats organized a mock filibuster on Bruin Walk,
participating in a nationwide political movement initiated by
Princeton University students in response to recent Congressional
pressures to amend filibuster policies on the Senate floor.
The event was scheduled to last 24 hours, ending today at 9
a.m.
Filibusters, which are long, extended speeches that prevent
continuation of Senate agenda, have been used primarily by the
minority party to thwart voting and passing legislation.
A group of Republican senators led by Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist, R-Tenn., proposed a “nuclear option,” also
known as “constitutional option,” that would modify
filibuster rules.
Frist is especially targeting the use of filibusters in
determining judicial nominations, as the Democrats have prevented
10 of President Bush’s nominees from obtaining court seats.
This issue recently reached Senate priority when Bush requested to
reconsider seven of those nominees.
The Princeton College Democrats protested Frist’s efforts
by launching the “Filibuster Frist” campaign, which
included the demonstration of a mock filibuster from April 26 to
May 12.
They also contacted and urged college groups across the nation,
including the Bruin Democrats, to hold mock filibusters to
publicize the issue, said first-year political science and history
student Nick Batter.
Batter, who is also issues director for the Bruin Democrats,
said Frist’s efforts to block the filibusters is a threat to
democracy.
“The cornerstone of our country and any democracy is that
people are equally represented. … For the majority to strip away
that right (by removing filibustering) completely undermines
that,” Batter said.
Matt Knee, president of the Bruin Republicans, said filibusters
are “procedural loopholes” that misrepresent history,
as the Constitution never required that 60 votes be accumulated in
order to pass a piece of legislation.
Under current law, 60 votes are required to end a
filibuster.
About 30 student volunteers participated in the mock filibuster.
The readers were mostly members of the Bruin Democrats.
“It is a good chance to express my political opinion in a
fun and public way,” said Doug Ludlow, former Bruin Democrats
president and fourth-year history and political science
student.
Near Kerckhoff Hall, participants distributed information about
the policy and orated text materials ranging from the Federalist
Papers to recipes from cookbooks.
Reading of such material is common in actual Senate filibusters,
as senators resort to reading any text within reach to maximize the
length of their speeches. Responses included occasional verbal
challenges.