One Night of Pressure Removes One Obstruction

An attempt to break the conservative minority filibuster of a proposal to effectively end the Iraq occupation fell short today. A majority of 53 senators [1], including four Republicans and one independent, supported an up-or-down vote (52 of which support the actual bill), but that's 7 votes short of the super-majority needed to end the filibuster.

In turn, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid -- instead of turning the floor over to proposals that would maintain the Iraq occupation -- turned the Senate's attention to a different bill [1].

So, did the all-night debate accomplish anything? Absolutely.

1. It's clearer than before who is preventing an end of the occupation.

Conservative obstructionists were forced to publicly argue why they are obstructing the public will.

In particular, this morning Sen. John McCain explicitly stated that we should ignore how the people want to direct our foreign policy as expressed in the last election -- implying that a few elites like himself know better, despite getting everything wrong in the past six years, and should not have to persaude the people.

2. The single day of amplified pressure removed one obstruction.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, "after agonizing through the night," [2] voted to end the filibuster, even though she does not support the bill [3] to effectively end the occupation.

One day (and night) of pressure moved one vote and removed one obstruction. Not bad for one day's work.

Think about what more pressure could do. What forcing conservatives to try to sustain an even longer filibuster could do.

Sign the petition [4] urging Sen. Reid to keep the obstructionists on the Senate floor, keep the spotlight on, keep the pressure on, "until this minority yields, or takes deserved heat for obstructing progress."

UPDATE: Additional reactions to the Senate vote from Tom Matzzie [5], Open Left [6], Bob Geiger [7], FireDogLake [8], Digby [9] and Talking Points Memo [10].