Princeton Students Filibuster Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist

Princeton University students are filibustering Senate majority leader Bill Frist's threat to end the Senate filibuster tradition. Senate Democrats plan to filibuster several spectacularly unsuited federal judicial nominees put forth by President Bush.

Since April 26, hundreds of Princeton University students have been continuously reading aloud, singing and rapping in front of the Frist Student Center, which was donated by Bill Frist, 1974 Princeton grad. Here's the live webcam feed of the continuous protest on Princeton's campus. The students were joined last Friday by Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ).

Wrote Asheesh Siddique, one of the student leaders, "We're fueled by a strong belief that Senator First's attempt to eliminate the filibuster of extremist judicial nominees constitutes a democracy-threatening encroachment on the right of the minority...

Senate Democrats have worked with Republicans to confirm 204 of the President's 214 federal court nominees. Nonetheless, Frist is upset because Democrats have decided to filibuster ten of these nominees---a group that collectively hold a vision of American society devoid of consumer protections, civil rights legislation and fair labor laws."

The filibuster stands as one of the only protections for the minority party in the Senate....Bill Frist, are you listening?"

Here is a link to the blogging being done by the filibustering Princeton students. Check out their blog and leave them a note of support and encouragement. (They're living on living on coffee, pizza and cereal. Someone take them a meal, too!)

If the Frist-led Republicans are successful in killing the Senate's historical filibuster tradition, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid will invoke a little-known Senate rule to schedule for immediate full Senate vote 9 new bills to provide relief to Americans from hardships suffered under Bush policies. The bills cover gas pump relief, veterans' benefits, education, jobs, womens' health care, US troops and more.

Meanwhile, let's all support these committed and concerned Princeton students.