Senate Dems Filibuster on Gun Control
Filibusters are, as Samantha Bee pointed out at the start of her live tweetsyesterday, the stuff of CSPAN-dorks" dreams. But as anyone who watched Mr. Smith Goes To Washington in a high school government class knows, they can be exceedingly tedious. We"re talking tedium on the level of filing tax returns orloan applications save for afew hilarious readings, like Ted Cruz"s dramatic recitation of Green Eggs and Ham. Which was Oscar-worthy, really.
They are also an important, if bizarre and seemingly antiquated, parliamentary procedure that can be employed strategically in the United States Senate. On Wednesday, Democrats took the floor to talk about something very serious: themassacre in Orlando Sunday that killed 49 and injured 53 others. As our colleagues over at OnPolitics note, it wasn"t a usual filibuster more a "filiGUNster" with senators drawing attention toissues related to gun control rather than trying to stop a vote on a bill. That"s something that was probably too much for many Americans to process in the wake of so much sadness.
Cue Samantha Bee.The Full Frontal host brought some levity and a lot of puns to the 14-hour session. Chronicling it all with the hashtag #enough, Bee joked and jabbed like most of us do while watching The Bachelorette or Oscars.
"Passionate oration is the new sexy," she said of Sen. Elizabeth Warren ofMassachusetts.
"This is going much better than the surprise filibuster Sen. Murphy got his wife for their anniversary," she quipped about theConnecticut legislator, before referencing his perfecthair again.
She also jeeredatthe GOP,the NRA and CNN.
Whether or not viewers agree with her (very clear) opinion, she brought the attentionofan audience to the procedure that may not otherwise follow CSPAN on a random summer night.
Which got us thinking...What if a comedian from both sides of the aisle was tapped to tweet or Facebook Live legislative procedures? There would be rules, of course. No hits below the belt. No mom jokes. Keep it classy. Would it prompt more young peopleto pay attention to the actual components of a bill, or details on stances from their elected officials?
The Dems already have a solid lineup Amy Schumer and her cousin, Sen. Chuck Schumer, would likely join Bee.
The Republicans will need to bolster their game. Bill O"Reilly (who had a thoughtful talk with best frenemy Steven Colbert on the Late Show earlier this week) should probably serve as coach and start recruiting now.
At a time when the lines between entertainment and reality are so blurred that dramas like Scandal seem plausible and a major-party candidate for president starred in a reality TV series, why not go with edutainment? It has to be somewhat more useful to society than live tweeting Keeping Up with theKardashians.
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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/06/16/samantha-bee-live-tweeted-filibuster-full-frontal-style/85973788/
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