Thursday, March 31, 2005

Mr Smith Goes Back to Washington

Jimmy Stewart's joined the fight to keep the filibuster. Left leaning advocacy group People for the American Way uses a scene from Mr Smith Goes to Washington to press for keeping the Senate floor talk marathons.

Filibusters are designed to allow a minority in the Senate to "talk a bill to death." Democrats have threatened to use it to block a handful of judicial nominees the President wants -- and Democrats don't. Republicans are threatening to respond with the "nuclear option" -- getting rid of the filibuster in judicial confirmations.

In the 1939 movie, Mr Stewart plays a naive, optimistic freshman Senator who uses a filibuster to win a battle for the little guys.

That piece of show business is not lost on PFAW -- founded by TV guru Norman Lear. They use a clip from the movie in a television ad running in seven Republican Senators' home states. (MSNBC)

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