Cloture Quotes
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was bitterly opposed in the senate by Southerners who had filibustered continuously. After months of debate a critical cloture vote was taken against a Senate tradition which had never voted cloture on a civil rights filibuster. Every vote was critical. Senator Engle was dying from a brain tumor, and could not walk or speak. When the vote for cloture was taken, Engle was wheeled into the Senate chamber, and in what may have been the most eloquent, poignant, creative vote in Senate history, pointed to his eyes. The vote was recorded as:. The Aye's narrowly won. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law.
The senator sees examples of the filibuster in ancient Rome.
The Cloture motion was the motion to terminate the Southern Filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Johnson needed substantial Republican support as the Solid Democratic South was all opposed to any kind of civil rights legislation. What is interesting is that Johnson, known as the champion arm twister, knew when to twist and when not to. Mundt, although a serious conservative and generally opposed to the Federal government controlling local human interaction, had also been a school superintendent and was a decent and fair-minded man who was personally offended by the over a century of unfair discrimination and overt racism. Johnson would either have Mundt’s vote from conviction or he would not get it, and pressure was not likely to work with him.
