The minority can do so because, under filibuster rules, 60 senators must vote to end debate on legislation. In 1957, Sen. Strom Thurmond conducted the longest-ever filibuster, 24 hours and 18 minutes, against a watered-down civil rights bill. “Cloture at Last!” the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights wrote to its members. (In each case, Senate leaders allowed for a majority to vote on the rules changes: no more filibustering the filibuster.) Rather, on balance, it has been a reactionary tool in American politics — as its use as a ruthlessly effective weapon against civil rights makes clear.

Source: Washington Post April 17, 2019 14:47 UTC