The Ritual

Like the ruffed grouse in its mating ceremony, the U.S. Senate began its biennial ritual--Democrats filibustering against Democratic efforts to end Democratic filibustering.

As he had in 1953, 1957, 1959 and 1961, New Mexico's liberal Clinton Anderson tried to amend Senate Rule XXII. He proposed that the rule permit debate to be shut off by three-fifths rather than two-thirds of the Senators present and voting. Georgia's Richard Russell had already served notice that any attempt to change the cloture rule would be met with "an all-out, last-ditch, to-the-end-of-the-road fight." Thereupon the Southern Democrats arose to start talking to death--as they had in previous years--the effort of Northern Democrats.

But this time there did not seem to be much passion in the dispute. Although Majority Leader Mike Mansfield supported Anderson's stand, he declined to throw the Senate into round-the-clock sessions; in this, he was backed by Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, who said he did not care to see the Senate become "a chamber of walking coronaries." Sensing defeat, liberal New Jersey Republican Clifford Case, a strong anti-filibuster man, said that a vote would be preferable to an extension of the ritual that is becoming "almost like a minuet." Minnesota's liberal Hubert Humphrey agreed. Said he: "I'm not one for prolonging the agony."

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