5 Filibusters Conservatives Wish You Would Forget

From turning their backs on workers to kowtowing to big tobacco, Senate conservatives have been there and done that.

By Elana Berkowitz, Campus Progress

Trying to justify the use of the “nuclear option,” conservatives like to claim that Democratic filibusters are “unprecedented.” The last month or so has been filled with legislators like Senator Frist shedding histrionic crocodile tears over those vicious Democrats who are supposedly holding all of America hostage with their filibustering ways as they try to occasionally throw an inconvenient wrench into the conservative world domination machine. The whole thing is just a wee bit farcical. Filibusters, when used well, can be a check to prevent the exercise of tyrannical raw power against the minority. When conservatives were in the minority, they engaged in quite a few filibusters of their own in support of some pretty lousy policies. How about we refresh your memory?

1. Strom Thurmond’s Last Stand Against Civil Rights

Taking to the Senate floor armed with throat lozenges and malted milk tablets, Senator Strom Thurmond set the record for the longest filibuster in history in 1957. Speaking against the 1957 Civil Rights Act for a staggering 24 hours and 18 minutes, Thurmond, who became a Republican in 1964, called the bill not only unconstitutional but, also, “cruel and unusual punishment.” The bill held that voting for minorities should be federally protected during a time when only 20% of African-Americans had registered to vote. The Civil Rights Act, which was the first piece of civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, called for a new division within the Justice Department to monitor civil rights abuses. Less than two hours after Thurmond’s failed filibuster concluded, the bill passed.

2. Turning Their Backs on Workers After 9/11

In October 2001, as the psychic and economic wounds of the September 11 th attacks were still very much raw, Senate Republicans filibustered a bill that would have provided aid to 150,000 aviation industry workers laid off due to the terror attacks. The bill, authored by Democrat Jean Carnanhan of Missouri, had enough votes to pass but 44 Republicans wouldn’t let it go to a vote. While Congress somehow managed to quickly find resources to bail out the airline corporations and their shareholders to the tune of $15 billion, Republicans didn’t seem to think that same economic safety net should be provided for workers and their families. The bill would have provided additional unemployment benefits, subsidies for purchasing health insurance, and retraining aid for former airline employees. The filibuster was led by Mississippi Senator Trent Lott.

3. Bowing to the Religious Right

In an attempt to curry favor among powerful religious right constituents, in 1995 Senate Republicans successfully filibustered to block the confirmation of U.S. Surgeon General nominee Dr. Henry Foster. With the critical 1996 election season looming, conservatives senators, led by Republican presidential hopefuls Senator Bob Dole and Senator Phil Gramm, attacked Dr. Foster for performing legal, constitutionally protected abortions as part of his obstetrics practice. To add to the pressure, the Christian Coalition ran full-page ads against him and a spokeswoman for the Family Research Council, a conservative think tank, proudly declared that legislators who vote for Foster “will regret it when it comes to election time.” NOW President Patricia Ireland retorted, "If Dr. Foster had not performed any abortions during his 38-year career, we would have to question whether he had provided appropriate medical care to his patients." Despite his stellar qualifications, including a highly successful program to help teenagers avoid unwanted pregnancy, Dr. Foster’s nomination was withdrawn. President Clinton said that the defeat "sent a chilling message to the rest of the country."

4. Filibustering for Nickels and Dimes

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch led a filibuster in 1988 against minimum wage legislation authored by, you guessed it, Senator Ted Kennedy. The legislation would have raised the $3.35 minimum wage for the first time since 1981, bringing it to $3.75 an hour by the following year and a whopping $4.55 by 1991. During the Reagan era, workers were losing ground quickly, and Senate Republicans were doing everything in their power to continue the downward slide. According to annually updated poverty guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services, in 1970, a family with one member working full-time at the minimum wage would be $100 above the federal poverty line. By 1988, the same family would be $3,000 under the poverty line. Senator Hatch has long been a fan of the filibuster when his party was in the minority. In 1994, defending a Republican judicial filibuster, Senator Hatch explained that the filibuster is “one of the few tools the minority has to protect itself and those the minority represents.”

5. Kowtowing to Big Tobacco

In 1998, conservative Senators permanently ensconced in the back pockets of tobacco lobbyists filibustered an anti-tobacco bill sponsored by one of their own (sort of), Senator John McCain. The sweeping tobacco control bill would have increased funds for an anti-smoking public education campaign, limited tobacco advertising geared towards children, raised the cigarette tax, imposed fines if youth smoking did not decrease, and given the FDA enhanced authority to regulate tobacco amongst other provisions. 1998 had also been a record year for successful lawsuit settlements against the tobacco industry, which fought ferociously against this legislation which did not grant the industry legal immunity though it did cap damages. Conservative picked lobbying dollars over the health of thousands of young people.