Taming the anti-filibuster flock?

Times columnist David Brooks invokes Abraham Lincoln to stop the religious right from going nuclear.

Published May 5, 2005 4:11PM (EDT)

New York Times columnist David Brooks has decided that going nuclear on the judicial filibuster should not be an option. Following an extended history lesson on Abraham Lincoln and faith in American politics (better refill that cup of coffee before tucking into this one), Brooks nods one last time to the religious right before calling it off.

"One lesson we can learn from Lincoln," Brooks offers, "is that there is no one vocabulary we can use to settle great issues. There is the secular vocabulary and the sacred vocabulary. Whether the A.C.L.U. likes it or not, both are legitimate parts of the discussion. Another is that while the evangelical tradition is deeply consistent with the American creed, sometimes evangelical causes can overflow the banks defined by our founding documents. I believe the social conservatives' attempt to end the judicial filibuster is one of these cases."

Perhaps the Frist flock in the Senate is listening. It's not too likely the fully radioactive Dobson flock is.


By Mark Follman

Mark Follman is Salon's deputy news editor. Read his other articles here.

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