The Stackhouse Filibuster

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“The Stackhouse Filibuster”
The West Wing episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 39
Guest stars	Tim Matheson George Coe Cara DeLizia
Written by	Aaron Sorkin (teleplay) Pete McCabe (story)
Directed by	Bryan Gordon
Production no.	226217
Original airdate
Season 2 episodes
In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II The Midterms In This White House And It's Surely To Their Credit The Lame Duck Congress The Portland Trip Shibboleth Galileo Noël The Leadership Breakfast The Drop-In Bartlet's Third State of the Union The War at Home Ellie Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail The Stackhouse Filibuster 17 People Bad Moon Rising The Fall's Gonna Kill You 18th and Potomac Two Cathedrals
List of The West Wing episodes

"The Stackhouse Filibuster" is the 39th episode of The West Wing.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Plot

Staffers (most of whom have weekend plans) are blindsided when an elderly senator begins Friday-night filibuster on a bill they had thought was a done deal. Meanwhile, Toby is puzzled when the Vice President, normally a champion of the oil industry, volunteers to attack it for "price gouging". And C.J. fears that the ancient Egyptian cat goddess Bast has cursed her because she accidentally broke a Bast statuette that had been given to the President on a visit to Cairo. The episode is retold via the device of three of the main characters emailing their respective parents to tell them what is going on. CJ is explaining to her dad why she cannot attend his 70th birthday; Josh is writing to thank his mother for a pair of shoes; and Sam is writing to his dad in an attempt to thaw the atmosphere between them following the disclosure of his dad's (28 year) affair. Everyone is at rather a loose end, waiting for the outcome of the filibuster. President Bartlett invites Leo to join him for dinner, and a comical conversation takes place between them along the lines of "We don't talk any more".Eventually Donna sees a way of resolving the issue, and the episode ends on a poignant note.

[edit] Trivia

The senate rules and procedures allow a filibuster to be brought to an end by cloture. This requires votes of three fifth of the sworn senators, currently 60. Though it is not explicitly stated, the implication is that the Family Wellness Act, the bill being filibustered, has more then enough support to make the 60 votes available and end the filibuster. This option is never mentioned on the show.