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How Aaron Sorkin's 'The West Wing' Is Propping Up Ted Cruz's Senate Filibuster

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As Ted Cruz's faux filibuster in opposition to Obamacare continues into its second day, it's clear that the Republican senator from Texas learned something from the left-leaning drama series The West Wing. (Follow this Link for live coverage on C-Span.)

In season 2, episode 17, which aired in March, 2001, the NBC show created by Aaron Sorkin dramatized the plight of a cranky, aging senator who uses a filibuster to hold up a spending bill.

In the episode entitled The Stackhouse Filibuster, the fictional President Bartlet's staff, hungry for a political victory, are at first confused and then angered by the 78-year-old Sen. Stackhouse's ploy. But then a junior staffer, the plucky Donna Moss, played by Janel Moloney, unravels the reason behind his grandstanding.

Stackhouse, it turns out, is hoping to get funding for austim research added to the bill, a cause that hits close to home because he has an autistic grandson. When President Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, learns of Stackhouse's motivation, he changes his mind asking his staff to look for ways to support the filibuster as the Senator appears close to collapse.

Moss notes that according to Senate rules the Senator can't stop talking but can yield the floor for questions, and step down from the podium while they're asked. The result is one of the most heartwarming moments in a series that deals with the often-cynical realities of partisan politics.

While it's not clear whether Cruz's real-life filibuster (if that's what it is) was inspired by this episode, it seems that his tactics have been. Any number of his Republican Senate colleagues including Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,  have  spelled Cruz with lengthy questions as did Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.

The items read into the record by Cruz during his 20 hours of oratory include Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, quotes from the reality show Duck Dynasty, riffs on Asthon Kutcher, the satisfaction of properly flipped pancakes, the joys of White Castle hamburgers and lyrics from a Toby Keith song. Cruz had read at length from Shakespeare's Henry V on the Senate floor during a Rand Paul filibuster earlier this year.

Cruz's filibuster is likely to have a less satisfying ending than the fictional Sen. Stackhouse's. His move is designed to prevent a vote on a spending bill that was, ironically, passed by the Republican controlled Congress last week.