Where everything is bipartisan until it is not.
A voluntary act of kindness or political support given without obligation. In government, favors are the unspoken currency of influence, though they're technically supposed to be transparent.
A person who incites or advocates for rebellion, revolution, or radical social change; a provocative agitator. Metaphorically, a firebrand is someone who sets minds ablaze with inflammatory ideas and passion.
The mere possibility that a senator might filibuster, which is so powerful that the actual filibuster almost never happens anymore because the threat alone kills the bill.
Senior government and opposition leadership in parliament, sitting at the front and controlling party strategy and legislative action.
Repeated calls to fix the filibuster that fail because fixing it requires eliminating it, which requires 67 votes (or the nuclear option).
A highway robber or thief who travels on foot rather than horseback, historically common in 18th and 19th century England. The term can also refer to a soft cushioning on an animal's foot or the sole of a shoe.
A politician's reversal of a previously stated position—the cardinal sin of politics, because voters apparently prefer consistency to evolving views based on new information.
Mentally compromised or brainwashed by consuming biased, propagandistic media—particularly Fox News. A clever play on words suggesting someone's thought process has been corrupted by misinformation.
The informal measure of how long a senator can continue speaking, constrained by bladder capacity and the tolerance of C-SPAN viewers.
A continuous speech or series of obstructive motions designed to prevent legislative action; the legislative equivalent of winning by exhaustion.
A supermajority of 60 Senate votes sufficient to overcome a filibuster and force a vote, also known as an 'almost never happens' threshold.