Quasi Fillibuster on the Tax Bill

Jillian Bandes | December 10, 2010 1:25 PM

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) took turns filibustering the tax bill in the well of the Senate this morning, and have only recently ceded their time to make way for another impassioned speech by Sen. Mary Landrieu. Their diatribes range from the typical, "why do the rich deserve breaks?" to ridiculous, "my father put nine of us through college and doesn't deserve to be taxed at the same rate as a wealthier Americans."

It's mildly entertaining, but unlikely to do anything -- unless they go for long enough. Sanders was visibly exhausted after talking for nearly two hours, and it's unclear whether other Democratic Senators will take the mantle after Landrieu is up.

Via NPR, Sanders explains his moves:

You can call what I am doing today whatever you want, you it call it a filibuster, you can call it a very long speech. I'm not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle. I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides.