Arguments over the filibuster veer toward an unproductive choice: kill it or keep it.
- Alton Frye
- The National Interest
The rational choice lies between extended debate and endless debate.
Those who care most about retaining the filibuster need to recognize the distinction and act on it responsibly. Passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Law illustrates that extended debate can be fruitful.
It can produce better policy and broader consensus.
Refusal by the Senate to invoke cloture—ending debate under the…