National Affairs: Battle in the Senate

The Senate launched the 87th Congress with its own version of an ancient liberal-conservative battle, but in contrast with the House's guerrilla war it seemed as pro forma as a Capitol guide's speech. Question at issue: How big a vote should be necessary to restrict Senate debate—and thereby cut off legislation-delaying filibusters?

A wide-ranging, bipartisan force—from Minnesota's Democratic Hubert Humphrey to Massachusetts' Republican Leverett Saltonstall—was drawn up against a solid phalanx of Southern Democrats, who have traditionally used the filibuster to stop civil rights bills. New Mexico's Clint Anderson offered a resolution...

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