Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

30-second civics lesson

He's a working-class guy, a Los Angeles firefighter and self-described "common sense Republican" who has twice voted for George W. Bush for president. And he wants to tell you about saving the Senate filibuster.

He's Ted Nonini, a plainspoken guy at the center of an unexpected television commercial attempting to educate Americans on a technical parliamentary tactic amid a sea of pitches for gas-guzzling cars and prescription drugs.

The ad, part of a $5-million campaign bankrolled by the People for the American Way, features Nonini interspersed with clips of Jimmy Stewart's climactic speech during the 1939 film classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . Facing the camera, Nonini extols the virtue of the filibuster - a tactic of halting progress on any legislation by refusing to relinquish the floor during a Senate debate.

The firefighter's message is something Republicans said for years when Democrats controlled Congress: "America works best when no one party has absolute power."

Coming at a time when stalled judicial nominations have prompted threats from Senate Republicans to end the maneuver, this commercial pushes all the right buttons - showcasing a working-class Republican asking for some moderation in an increasingly bitter partisan fight.

Critics may grouse that filibusters don't have such a sterling history, including their role in helping prosegregation Southern Democrats stall civil rights legislation for years during the late '50s and early '60s. Still, seeing a sly TV ad link Stewart's citizen senator to an explanation of the filibuster shows television can occasionally be put to a higher purpose than selling soft drinks and the latest Vin Diesel movie.

[Last modified April 14, 2005, 01:15:22]