(2005-02-15) -- Faced with President Bush's renomination of 12 previously-blocked judicial nominees and a potential Republican rewrite of Senate rules to prohibit filibusters of judicial nominees, Democrats today warned the White House they would invoke the Senate "tantrum rule" to stymie the president's efforts.

The tantrum rule allows for vocal and physical expressions of displeasure, including, but not limited to, "whining, screaming, holding one's breath, fist pounding and flopping about on the carpet."

When a member of the minority party invokes the tantrum provision, the president of the Senate may either ignore the Senator on the floor, use the gavel to compel silence or order the sergeant-at-arms to drag the Senator by the wrist out of the chamber.

"We know it won't work," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, "But it's all part of keeping our progressive vision for America before the voters." Posted by: Korora 2005-02-16