There's a great line in an early scene of the musical "1776". Richard Henry Lee of Virginia has introduced a resolution declaring the 13 colonies "free and independent states" and the Second Continental Congress is deciding if it should consider the proposal and open debate. A tied vote is broken by Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island, who declares, "In all my years I never seen, heard, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn't even be talked about. Hell yes. I'm for debating anything."

There were no transcripts of the proceedings of the Continental Congress. Playwrights Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone used writings by and about the founders for much of the dialog, but I've never been able to find anything to prove that Hopkins really said that, or anything resembling it. Still, even if we do not know what the founders said, we know what they did. They did debate and approve the resolution, even though their action put them individually at grave personal risk as it moved their constituants from insurrection to outright war.

Fast-forward to the Senate of the United States of America, which may this weekend decide if it should even debate the matter of health care reform. Those who oppose the pending legislation lack the courage of the founders. They threaten a filibuster.

The filibuster (from a Dutch word meaing "pirate") is not in the Constitution. The filibuster is a creature of the Senate's own rules, which allow a member to take the floor and hold it indefinitely, effectively keeping a measure from ever coming to a vote. To break a filibuster and limit debate, the Senate must invoke "cloture", an act which requires 60 votes.

You may recall "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", a 1939 Frank Capra film. Jimmy Stewart is a young idealistic Senator, appointed as a seat holder by political machine leaders and expected to vote as they direct. Instead, Smith stages a filibuster to block a corrupt bill, holding to floor to the point of physical collapse.

Like so many things in our modern society, the Senate has made the filibuster easy. Today a Senator need not hold the floor; he needs only to declare his attention to do so. That keeps the issue off the agenda and allows the Senate to proceed with its other business. It also deprives us of our right to hear the pros and the cons and to see where our elected leaders stand.

The Senate Majority Leader, currently Harry Reid of Nevada, has the power to require an old fashion filibuster on any issue. If the opponents of health care reform filibuster the motion to open debate I hope he does just that. Let them bring out their cots and their diapers, and lay in a good supply of reading material. Let them hold the floor until they drop and let them do it all in clear view of the television cameras. Let the people see who believes health care reform is an issue so dangerous it can't even be talked about.