Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Chapter One Soul of the Senate
Chapter Two Filibuster, Cloture, and Unfettered Amendment
Chapter Three History of the Filibuster
Chapter Four Polarized Politics and the Use and Abuse of the Filibuster
Chapter Five Criticisms of the Filibuster
Chapter Six The Dangers of Overzealous Reform
Chapter Seven Related Tactics: Holds
Chapter Eight Related Tactics: Filling the Amendment Tree
Chapter Nine Circumventing the Filibuster: Reconciliation
Chapter Ten Reforming the Filibuster: The Constitutional Option
Chapter Eleven Reforming the Filibuster: The Nuclear Option
Chapter Twelve Bring In the Cots
Chapter Thirteen Defending the Filibuster
Epilogue
Appendix
Bibliography

Promotional Information

Offers a stimulating assessment of the issues surrounding current debates on the filibuster

About the Author

RICHARD A. ARENBERG served in senior congressional staff positions for 34 years as an aide to Majority Leader George Mitchell and Senators Paul Tsongas and Carl Levin. He currently is an Adjunct Lecturer in Political Science and Public Policy at Brown University, Northeastern University, and Suffolk University.
ROBERT B. DOVE is Parliamentarian Emeritus of the U.S. Senate, having served as the Senate's Parliamentarian and Assistant Parliamentarian from 1966 until 2001. He has provided expert parliamentary advice to legislatures around the world. He currently is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, George Washington University, and George Mason University and counsels members of the Patton Boggs law firm on congressional procedure.

Reviews

"In Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate, longtime Senate experts Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove argue that while the filibuster and other Senate rules have undoubtedly been severely abused in recent years, the fault lies with the abusers and not the filibuster itself. Rather, they convincingly argue that the ability to extend debate is a valuable check on the majority party, one that has helped preserve the Senate as a more moderate, careful body than the House of Representatives." Jeff Fleisher, ForeWord Reviews, October 2012 "A timely, well-researched, and cogently argued defense of the filibuster by two veterans of the Senate staff who understand the issue and its consequences." Donald A. Ritchie, author of The U.S. Congress: A Very Short Introduction