Postpone Indefinitely

[Pastor Tim]

At an upcoming meeting, there is a controversial item of business on the agenda--something I referenced in an earlier thread.

For those persons who are opposed to the item, what is the difference between simply voting "no" on the item itself and making a motion to Postpone Indefinitely?  In reading the RRNR description of the motion to postpone indefinitely, the opening paragraph on p. 126 mentions using this motion because of potential "undesirable consequences" of adopting the motion in question.

Must those who move to postpone indefinitely have to cite a concern about undesirable consequences--or potentially a lack of relevant information that will not be available until after the meeting--or can they simply use this particular motion as another way to defeat the motion (hoping to buy some more time to keep it from returning at another meeting).

[Joshua Katz]

There are a few uses of postpone indefinitely.  One is when there are undesirable consequences both to adopting and to failing to adopt the motion.  For instance, suppose a club has never been political, and whose President is running for Congress.  A motion is made to endorse the President in the race.  I may think the club should stay out of politics, but if the motion comes to a vote and fails, it also looks like a repudiation of the President, which wasn't intended.  Postpone indefinitely allows us to have a way out. 

Another use is part of a strategy - if I oppose a motion, I may want to know how likely it is to pass so that I can consider amending it, or maybe even voting in favor so I can later reconsider.  So I might move to postpone indefinitely just to see where the votes are likely to come down.

A motion to postpone indefinitely doesn't require the citing of a concern about consequences or a lack of information.  Those may be useful arguments, but the mover is simply required to make the motion.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

11 minutes ago, Pastor Tim said:

... can they simply use this particular motion as another way to defeat the motion...

Yes.