Fed up with the Democrats who voted for the Kyl-Liberman Amendment? Wondering what the purpose of the non-Sense of the Senate amendment was?

Well, the purpose of the amendment was not really about Iran. It is about continuing the war in Iraq based on the lies of the Bush administration, now officially adopted by the Democrats, about Iran. After all justifications for staying the course in Iraq have proven empty, by now labeling Iran a terrorist organization (weird, huh?) the Democrats join with the Republicans to provide next justification for the continuation of the war in Iraq.  

The non-Sense Amendment exposes the underlying structure of the duopoly, the two-party dictatorship, that rules the USA today.

Only Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel are outside the political pack of this duopoly mindset.  It is up to the regular grass roots Democrats to face this uncomfortable and inconvenient truth.

S. Amdt 2947: To reaffirm strong support for all the men and.... to H.R. 1585: National Defense Authorization Act....( Vote On Ammendment)
Result: Ammendment Rejected)

It took me awhile to digest the all-night Senate debate over the Defense Authorization Bill.  The form of the debate was that of a marathon recitation of talking points.  Ultimately, "moderate" republican senators chose to block a vote on the Levin-Reed amendment to begin redeploying, so we stay the course in Iraq.

The session did provide for some excellently ridiculous political logic from the war-mongers, however, so it wasn't a total loss.  I would like to highlight the Top Ten Lame Excuses for Supporting the Iraqi Occupation.

The Senate debated the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill from 3:15 PM yesterday afternoon to about 11:05 this morning (EDT).

Levin-Reed will require redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment. The GOP doesn't want to have to vote on this amendment, Rs in re-election campaigns don't want to go on record in opposition to bringing the troops home, so they are refusing to allow debate to end.  Since the Rs won't vote to close off debate, Give em hell Harry Reid has forced the Republicans to actually talk, old school filibuster style, until they either agree to stop debate or reach the 30-hour cap.

As expected, the 11:00 cloture vote failed by 7 votes.

The vote was 52-47. Four Republicans voted for it: Senators Olympia Snowe, Gordon Smith, Chuck Hagel, and Susan Collins. Collins' support for the bill is a new defection from the Republicans.

The Senate debated the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill from 3:15 PM yesterday afternoon to about 11:05 this morning (EDT).

The text of the amendment is here: S.2766. (PDF)

Levin-Reed will require redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment. The GOP doesn't want to have to vote on this amendment, Rs in re-election campaigns don't want to go on record in opposition to bringing the troops home, so they are refusing to allow debate to end.  Since the Rs won't vote to close off debate, Give em hell Harry Reid has forced the Republicans to actually talk, old school filibuster style, until they either agree to stop debate or reach the 30-hour cap.

Periodic live quorum calls forced Senators to be physically present on the floor and kept most of them from getting an uninterrupted night's sleep.  The Sgt at Arms has not had to actually physically compel anyone into the chamber, but the mere threat of that has kept Rs showing up for the live quorum calls.

This is not political theater.  This is democracy.

The Senate Democrats have been debating H.R. 1585 - The Defense Authorization Bill and the Republicans have spent the night whining and wanting to stay the course.

Cloture Vote took place at 11:00 am edt
The vote was 52-47. Four Republicans voted for it: Senators Olympia Snowe, Gordon Smith, Chuck Hagel, and Susan Collins. Collins' support for the bill is a new defection from the Republicans.

What this means: A majority of the U.S. Senate favors withdrawal from Iraq, the Senate can't vote on a measure that would accomplish this -- because the GOP Senate leadership won't allow it.

Harry Reid has pushed and made the Senate stand and be accountable. Let's keep track of what's going on and remember we made big strides in putting  the GOP on record as being against the troops and for the President.

You can watch on C-Span2

Our Democratic leadership finally heard our voices and forced the Republicans into a filibuster on the Levin-Reed Amendment, which will require redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment. As a result, the Senate has been debating Levin-Reed since 3:15 PM yesterday afternoon. We owe them our thanks for finally exposing the obstructionist Republicans for what they are: anti-troop, pro-Bush, and frankly, unAmerican.

We Kossacks have been there for every minute, thanks to a heroic and intrepid bunch of livebloggers. Kudos to every one of you who have participated, as diarists and commenters--you rock!

Our post-vote coverage continues below the fold...

GOT TO NEW DIARY

LiveBlog 31

The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Other Links

Front Paged at msnbc.com

Hecklers at the vigil in D.C.

Josh Marshall wades through the complete misundertanding of what is happening & whether the press is doing it intentionally.

Contact your Senator via democrats.org.  I did it - you can do it too!!

Yahoo/AP story

Live Q&A at Wash Post at 11 E.S.T.

It was one one hell of a night in DC and a hearty bunch of kossacks have been there for every minute of it thanks to liveblogging.  On the east coast, the morning rush hour is over on this Wednesday, July 18th and the Senate has been debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill since 3:15 PM yesterday afternoon.  Levin-Reed will require redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment. The GOP doesn't like that idea and so the debate has been joined.

The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requested a standard simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans have developed a pathological fear of cloture.

go here now

This is now the Mothership Liveblog diary.  Please rec it, and it only.  Go unrec Cedwyn's diary here.

The Senate is currently debating whether or not to bring the Reed-Levin Amendment to the floor for an up or down vote.  The Republicans have been filibustering, the Democrats have been calling for a vote.  The amendment would put forth a beginning withdrawal date from Iraq.

Some rules:

No pictures, no videos!

Please identify the Senator your are "live blogging" in the subject line.

Jump to the next diary at 200 comments.

                               
The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requested a standard simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

The text of the amendment is here: S. 2766. (PDF)

The Republicans are filibustering and Harry Reid says that they have to actually debate in this filibuster rather than simply voting on cloture to quash the effort to get an up or down simple majority vote.

So thirty hours of debate is the order of the day, night and day again.

The is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requsted a simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

Reed is "Jack Reed" of Rhode Island a Democrat and Levin is "Carl Levin" of Michigan also as it happens is a Democrat.  Worth noting as it is the Republicans who refuse to budge on our troop deployments.

Text of the amendment is here: S. 2766

The Republicans are filibustering and Harry Reid says that they have to actually debate in this filibuster rather than simply voting on cloture to quash the effort to get an up or down simple majority vote.

So thirty hours of debate is the order of the day, night and day again.

This is not political theater.  This is democracy folks and had we done this before we went into Iraq we might have avoided this fiasco.

Please DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS DIARY to keep the rec list clear for only ONE of these threads ONLY RECOMMEND THE MOTHERSHIP DIARY:

Liveblog Mothership - GOoPer Senate Filibuster on Iraq

The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requsted a simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

Reed is "Jack Reed" of Rhode Island a Democrat and Levin is "Carl Levin" of Michigan who is also a Democrat.  Worth noting as it is the Republicans who refuse to budge on our troop deployments.

Text of the amendment is here: S. 2766

The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requested a standard simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requested a standard simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

The text of the amendment is here: S. 2766. (PDF)

The Republicans are filibustering and Harry Reid says that they have to actually debate in this filibuster rather than simply voting on cloture to quash the effort to get an up or down simple majority vote.

So thirty hours of debate is the order of the day, night and day again.

This is not political theater.  This is democracy, folks, and had we done this before we went into Iraq we might have avoided this fiasco.

The Senate is debating the Levin-Reed Amendment to the defense appropriations bill which requires redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 120 days of enactment.

Harry Reid has requested a standard simple majority vote on the Levin-Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.

       I've been on Capitol Hill with VoteVets since this afternoon.  I'm using a computer I borrowed from Faiz of Think Progress.  It's after 2:00 AM here on the east coast, and I'm smoked.  But we're still here, and I thought I'd take this time to pass on a few of the highlights from this long day.  
       So in no particular order, here they are: