The Filibuster: Imperfect, but better than nothing

In its current form, the U.S. Senate’s delaying tactic called the "filibuster" hangs on a rule requiring 60 votes for "cloture." Simply put, it takes 51 Senators to pass a bill, but before that, it takes the consent of 60 Senators to end debate and actually get to a final majority vote.

Each time control of the U.S. Senate changes hands, the new majority party publicly mulls doing away with the fi...