Republican leaders say the Senate cannot debate the SAVE America Act because they lack the votes to invoke cloture. But the Senate can still advance legislation without a cloture vote by forcing opponents to hold the floor and sustain their obstruction. And if Republicans believe Rule XXII - the cloture rule - makes it too difficult to pass the election overhaul bill, they can always try to change it.
Republicans have options. They can use the Senate’s existing rules, or they can try to change them to make it easier to invoke cloture. Yet Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, has dismissed the talking filibuster strategy as unworkable, and Republicans have made no serious effort to change the cloture rule.
