A filibuster is a tactic used to delay or stop a vote on an issue in a legislative body. In the US Senate, a person can speak indefinitely unless 60 members of the Senate table a motion to stop them. The longest filibuster in US history was by South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act. Other notable filibusters include Wayne Morse and Huey Long. The purpose of a filibuster is to raise public awareness and garner support for a bill.
A filibuster is an attempt to delay or stop a vote on an issue within a legislative body. In the US Senate, the person opposing a bill can speak indefinitely on any subject unless 60 members of the Senate table a motion to stop them, a process known as “cloture.” The point of filibustering is to postpone a vote long enough to raise public awareness of the bill, thereby garnering support and forcing the hands of lawmakers on the will of the people. Longer freebooters sometimes require cots and other materials to be brought in for the senators in attendance.
Topping the list of longest freebooters in US history is that of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond on August 28, 1957, starting at 8:54 am. He argued against the Civil Rights Act for a record 24 hours and 18 minutes. Reports say he ate a large steak beforehand to maintain energy and took a steam bath to drain off the liquids so he could avoid using the bathroom in the process. Thurmond told no one of his plan and hoped to incite fellow Southerners to influence the votes of their senators. The filibuster was unsuccessful, as no senators changed their votes after the event. As of 2009, this 52-year-old event still tops the list of longest freebooters.
Wayne Morse of Oregon had another of the longest filibusters when he spoke out against the Tidelands Oil Legislation on April 24, 1953. Senator Morse was best known for leaving the Republican Party following the nomination of Richard Nixon as vice president by Dwight Eisenhower. He reportedly came to the Senate the following day with a folding chair and the words: “Since I have not been given any seats in the new Senate, I have decided to bring mine.” His stonewalling of Tidelands oil legislation, which gave states offshore rights, was just one of the many areas he was known to be controversial about. In historical references, he has often been referred to as the original “maverick”. His filibuster, then the longest in history, lasted 22 hours and 26 minutes.
Number three on the list of longest running filibusters in US history is Huey Long of Louisiana on June 12, 1935. Senator Long has been called the “master of the Senate filibuster.” His longest attempt has been to continue seeking Senate confirmation for senior National Recovery Administration employees. When he began to lose his words, he suggested that the Senate ask questions. When no one accepted the offer, the press started sending applications. After these questions stopped coming, he offered recipes for fried oysters and “potlikker” before finally relenting after 15 hours and 30 minutes of nonstop talk.
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