What is a filibuster?
To delay or stop action on a bill in the Senate through constant talking. Or a long speech or series of speeches used to delay or stop action on a bill by consuming large blocks of time. This time-honored delaying tactic is almost always employed by the minority to defeat a measure favored by the majority. Some have so refined the art of the filibuster that the mere threat of staging one can kill a bill or sidetrack it. It takes 60 votes to stop a filibuster, and if a bill’s sponsor cannot round them up, they are often forced to make a number of deals before having the bill considered.
