So the War party thinks it can stay out the chamber during their own filibuster, call for a quorum and then shut down debate when the quorum doesn’t materialize?
As they say, “Sadly, No.”
Congress Expert: Wingers Wrong, Reid’s Force-A-Filibuster Plan Not In Trouble | TPMCafe:
Whenever upon such roll call it shall be ascertained that a quorum is not present, a majority of the Senators present may direct the Sergeant at Arms to request, and, when necessary, to compel the attendance of the absent Senators… [Senate Rules]
And yes, this has apparently happened before, in 1988, when Majority Leader Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., ordered round-the-clock Senate sessions that were boycotted by Republicans. Charlie Cook recounts that Byrd ordered the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms to arrest absent senators and bring them to the floor. Capitol cops arrested Sen. Robert Packwood, R-Ore., and even removed him from a locked Senate office and carried him onto the Senate floor, Cook writes.
Reid hasn’t said whether he’ll do this. But if he did, imagine the storyline…the Sergeant-at-Arms going out to chase down awol Republican Senators refusing to show up for a debate on the Iraq War. Seems like a narrative that Reid, who likes a bit of drama, might not mind all that much.
That would make some excellent political theater: GOP senators arrested, removed from locked office, and forced to vote? Give ’em hell, Harry.