Got a Democratic Senator? Heres how they can ACTUALLY PLAY HARDBALL on TrumpCare. Yes, they have tools to use. Yes, they can win. 1/
The hardball tactic @indivisibleteam is proposing here along with @moveon and @CREDOMobile is based on how reconciliation works. 2/
Reconciliation gives Republicans a HUGE benefit - they only need 50 votes to pass TrumpCare instead of the normal 60. 3/
But it comes with a little talked about cost: vote-a-rama. Basically vote-a-rama means an unlimited number of amendments must be allowed. 4/
So, in short: reconciliation means you only need 50 votes, but you have to accept votes on a ton of amendments. 5/
Vote-a-rama is an annoyance for the party using reconciliation, but its accepted in order to lower the vote threshold to 50. 6/
But unlimited votes means EXACTLY what it sounds like. There is no limit to the number of amendments. 7/
Any senator can introduce dozens, hundreds, THOUSANDS. They just have to be on Senate Floor to introduce. 8/
And heres the thing about these amendments. They have to be introduced by a speech and voted on. AND THAT TAKES TIME. 9/
Lets say it takes about 10 minutes to introduce and then vote on an amendment, a conservative estimate. 10/
If @SenateDems introduce 1,000 amendments, thats 10,000 minutes. 10,000 minutes = 167 hours = 7 days. So 1,000 amendments = 1 week. 11/
If @SenateDems introduce 40,000 amendments, thats 40 weeks worth of amendments. That would take us through the 2018 midterms. 12/
SO HERE'S THE TACTIC: Next week, @SenateDems should hold a press conference with a big ol stack of papers. 40,000 pages to be exact. 13/
And @SenateDems should make a simple promise: If Republicans insist on this secretive undemocratic process for TrumpCare
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Then @SenateDems should promise to filibuster-by-amendment through the 2018 mid-terms. 15/
Senate Rs want to pass this bill in darkness thru speed+secrecy. We can drag it into the daylight. We can defeat it. We can win this. 16/
No public hearings? Then we bury TrumpCare in amendments. Dont like it? Too bad. Thats the price for subverting the democratic process.17/