The Last Great Senate

by Ira Shapiro

  20 Allen . . . a new and ingenious version of the filibuster: Byrd, Senate Addresses, vol. 2, p. 154.

  20 the lethal potential of the post-cloture filibuster: Michael O’Brien, Philip Hart: The Conscience of the Senate (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1995), p. 207. The clear majority of the Senate supported Hart’s antitrust legislation. But “a major force behind the bill’s progress,” reported the Wall Street Journal, “was the desire of many senators to pass it as a farewell monument to Senator Philip Hart.”

  20 “The rich and the powerful were there”: O’Brien, Philip Hart, p. 213.

  21 “I am going to get up and walk out:” Ibid.

  21 far better to have younger members: Ibid. p. 201.

  21 agonized about the future of Detroit: Ibid., p. 210.

  22 “he wagered that conscience”: Ibid., p. 212, quoting from Coleman McCarthy’s column in the Detroit Free Press, December 28, 1976.

  22 “his integrity, diligence and compassionate humanism”: quoting from the Washington Post editorial, December 28, 1976.

  22 foremost advocate of American military strength: Caro, Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate, pp. 179–180.

  22 “a discharge of political passion”: Ibid., p. 367, quoting Schlesinger and Rovere.

  22 hearings that calmed the nation: Ibid., pp. 374–381.

  22 “a man who had been electrocuted and lived”: Byron C. Hulsey, Everett Dirksen and His Presidents: How a Senate Giant Shaped American Politics (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000), p. 2.

  23 Byrd quickly signaled his priorities and aspirations: Interviews with Hoyt Purvis, March 22, 2010, and January 17, 2011.

  CHAPTER 2: THE NATURAL

  25 unable to decide whether to run for Senate minority leader: J. Lee Annis, Jr., Howard Baker: Conciliator in an Age of Crisis, 2nd ed. (Knoxville: Howard Baker Center for Public Policy, University of Tennessee, 2007), pp. 102–103.

  25 The heir apparent for the job was Robert Griffin: Judith H. Parris, “The Senate Reorganizes Its Committees: 1977,” Political Science Quarterly 94, no. 2 (Summer 1979), p. 325, refers to Griffin as the “prospective leader”; “New Congress—Younger, but Less Brash” describes the selection of Baker as “a surprise,” p. 35.

  26 “You just have to go over there”: Annis, Howard Baker, p. 103.

  26 Baker still remained undecided: Ibid.

  26 large disappointments had taken a toll on his confidence: Ibid., pp. 101–102.

  26 if the senators chose the president: Ibid., p. xix. After Newsweek in 1978 asked a sample of Democratic senators off the record who they would like to see elected president in 1980, a reporter told senior Democrat that a plurality of his colleagues privately backed Baker. “You’re wrong,” the member responded. “He’d win a majority.”

  26 a “junior grade Everett Dirksen”: Annis, Howard Baker, p. 32.

  26 surprised Dirksen with the firmness of his position: Ibid., pp. 33–34.

  27 seeking to become Senate leader: Ibid., pp. 43–44.

  27 rejected Baker once again: Ibid., pp. 50–51.

  27 offered Baker a seat on the Supreme Court: Ibid., p. 52.

  27 frustrating Nixon with his indecision: Dean, Rehnquist Choice, pp. 239–240.

  27 “Funeral homes are livelier than the Court”: Annis, Howard Baker, p. 52.

  27 “the best television personality in the Senate”: Ibid., p. 62.

  28 He had harbored high hopes: Ibid., pp. 92–99.

  28 gave serious consideration to running for governor: Ibid., p. 102.

  28 “I don’t have the votes”: Ibid., p. 103.

  29 “an idea whose time had come”: Hulsey, Everett Dirksen and His Presidents, p. 196; Mann, Walls of Jericho, p. 426.

  29 Aiken had breakfasted with Mike Mansfield: Oberdorfer, Senator Mansfield, p. 174.

  29 Cooper’s knowledge of the world: Robert Schulman, John Sherman Cooper: The Global Kentuckian (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1976), pp. 26–32, 44–45, 50–53.

  30 The intensity of the Republican right: Annis, Howard Baker, p. 97; Sean Wilentz, The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974–2008 (New York: Harper, 2008), pp. 51–68.

  30 Helms had followed a unique path to the Senate: William A. Link, Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008), pp. 45–128.

  31 Helms broadcast 2,732 viewpoints: Ibid., p. 70.

  31 vehement opposition to the civil rights movement: Bill Peterson, “Jesse Helms’ Lesson for Washington,” Washington Post, November 18, 1984.

  32 “liberalism, subversion and perversion”: Link, Jesse Helms, p. 84.

  32 an opportunity to run for the Senate: Ibid., pp. 114–117.

  32 “almost as lib’rul as the other side”: Ibid., p. 134.

  33 seeking out Allen as a mentor: Ibid., pp. 135–136.

  33 within weeks of arriving: Ibid., pp. 136–137.

  33 “Defeats don’t discourage me”: Ibid., p. 136.

  33 began regularly to resort to the filibuster: Ibid., pp. 138–139.

  34 “only way a minority has”: Ibid., p. 139.

  34 Helms had already begun to add the “social issues”: Ibid., pp. 89–92.

  34 appalled when Gerald Ford picked Nelson Rockefeller: Ibid., pp. 139–140.

  34 refused to meet with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Ibid., pp. 141–144.

  35 He would work tirelessly: Ibid., pp. 167–168, 210–215.

  35 a disarming and conciliatory style of bargaining: Annis, Howard Baker, p. 32.

  35 “bring together a boll weevil and a cotton planter”: Quoted in Annis, Howard Baker, p. xxiv.

  35 quickly moved to share the leadership responsibilities: Michael Malbin, “The Senate Republican Leaders—Life without a President,” National Journal, May 2, 1977.

  35 emerge as a counterforce: Ibid.; Annis, Howard Baker, p. 104.

  36 enmity of many liberals: Godfrey Hodgson, The Gentleman from New York: Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Biography (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000), pp. 114–120.

  36 assertive stance at the UN: Ibid., pp. 243–250, 261.

  36 crafted Nixon’s Family Assistance Plan: Ibid., pp. 160–174.

  CHAPTER 3: GREAT EXPECTATIONS, DIFFERENT AGENDAS

  39 grasped several fundamental political realities: Betty Glad, Jimmy Carter: In Search of the Great White House (New York: W. W. Norton, 1980), pp. 229–241; Robert Kaufman, Henry M. Jackson: A Life in Politics (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000), pp. 319–320.

  39 Four senators ran in the primaries: Lloyd Bentsen also sought the nomination, but abandoned the race early, before the crucial Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.

  40 “If Scoop Jackson gave a fireside chat”: Michael Kramer, “Visions of Dream Tickets Danced in Their Heads,” New York, August 11, 1980, is one of many reporters to repeat that famous quip.

  40 “the little people couldn’t reach the levers”: George Will, “Staying the Coarse,” Washington Post, January 29, 2008, recalled Harris’s comment in discussing the populist turn in the 2008 campaign.

  40 a political cartoon in the Washington Post: Herbert Block, Herblock on All Fronts (New York: New American Library, 1980), p. 151, reprinting his cartoon that appeared in the Washington Post on June 10, 1976.

  40 the Democrats drew some comfort from Carter’s choice: Gillon, Democrats’ Dilemma, p. 169, reflects the widely held view that Mondale was a popular choice.

  40 Carter appeared certain to be the next president: Wilentz, Age of Reagan, pp. 69–70, is one of many sources describing the conventional political wisdom in the summer of 1976.

  41 Americans just felt better: Ibid., pp. 14–15.

  41 whom many senators had personally despised: It is not an overstatement to say that many senators “despised” Richard Nixon long before he became president, and understanding the intensity of that sentiment is crucial for understanding the mood and workings of the Senate from the time Nixon took office January 1969 through the time he resigned
the presidency in August 1974. For example, Sam Ervin was “appalled by Nixon’s original red-baiting campaign against Jerry Voorhis that brought him to Congress in 1947.” Karl E. Campbell, Senator Sam Ervin, Last of the Founding Fathers, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007), pp. 210–211. Mike Mansfield remembered Nixon campaigning against him in an ugly 1952 race in Montana. He also recalled Nixon urging Eisenhower to intervene militarily in Indochina at the time of Dienbienphu, “and thank the Lord we didn’t.” Oberdorfer, Senator Mansfield, pp. 349–350. Albert Gore Sr. detested Nixon, whom he regarded as a dangerously partisan and combative political enemy. Kyle Longley, Senator Albert Gore, Sr.: Tennessee Maverick (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004), pp. 99–100. Richard Russell once confided to a friend that “Mr. Nixon, if he ever assumes the presidency, would be the worst president imaginable.” Campbell, Senator Sam Ervin, p. 211. Interviews with Birch Bayh, Joseph Tydings, George McGovern, and Walter Mondale indicate that senators who had no history with Nixon before he became president also grew to despise him.

  43 the most influential forces in the Democratic Party: Gillon, Democrats’ Dilemma, pp. 188–191; Mondale, Good Fight, pp. 192–195; Wilentz, Age of Reagan, pp. 79–82; Jimmy Carter, Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (Toronto: Bantam Books, 1982), pp. 77–78.

  43 rolling back Taft-Hartley Act: Woods, LBJ, pp. 667–678.

  43 Political Washington looked carefully for telltale signs: Gillon, Democrats’ Dilemma, pp. 183–184.

  43 “I learned three things about Carter today”: Ibid., p. 184.

  43 the new president disliked political small talk: Ibid., p. 192; Mondale, Good Fight, pp. 187–188; Charles O. Jones, The Trusteeship Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the United States Congress (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988), pp. 1–9. “He thought politics was sinful,” Mondale reminisced. Gillon, Democrats’ Dilemma, p. 201.

  44 power had tilted dramatically toward the presidency: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., The Imperial Presidency (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973), is the best known work on the shift of power, which has been discussed by many scholars and participants in government.

  45 to allow Congress to reclaim its authority: Jones, Trusteeship Presidency, p. 47; Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 59–60; Wilentz, Age of Reagan, p. 83; and “Bold and Balky Congress” are four of many sources about Congress’s new assertiveness.

  45 As professor Nelson Polsby memorably observed: Anthony King, ed., The New American Political System (Washington, DC: The American Enterprise Institute, 1990), quoting Polsby.

  45 would not hesitate to let the president know: Carter, Keeping Faith, p. 71, refers to Congress as having “an insatiable appetite for consultation”; Kaufman, Henry Jackson, p. 342; Martin Tolchin, “Byrd, Hinting Strained Relation, Says Carter Failed to Seek Advice, New York Times, January 27, 1977.

  45 the type of preparation Carter liked best: Gillon, Democrats’ Dilemma, pp. 183–184.

  45 confronted a complicated economic picture: Bruce J. Schulman, “Slouching Toward the Supply Side: Jimmy Carter and the New American Political Economy,” in Gary M. Fink and Hugh Davis Graham, eds., The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices in the Post–New Deal Era (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998), pp. 51–61, Mondale, Good Fight, pp. 191–192.

  46 listed job creation as its number-one priority: Schulman, “Slouching Toward the Supply Side,” p. 54.

  46 Carter and the congressional leaders came together: “The Economy: Something for (Almost) Everybody,” Time, January 17, 1977.

  46 Michael Blumenthal, the new secretary of treasury: Clyde H. Farnsworth, “Carter Aides Describe $31 Million Package,” New York Times, January 28, 1977.

  46 the thirty-eight member Republican Conference: Peter Milius, “President’s $50-per-Person Rebate Meets Stiff Opposition in Congress,” Washington Post, February 3, 1977.

  47 Jimmy Carter delivered his first televised “fireside chat”: Peter Milius, “Carter Tax Cut Again Assailed at Hill Hearing,” Washington Post, February 5, 1977.

  47 Carter and his White House team: “Policy: When More Is Not Enough,” Time, February 7, 1977.

  48 Carter’s call for Americans to make sacrifices: Milius, “Carter Tax Cut Again Assailed.”

  48 On February 19, without previous consultation: Peter Milius, “Reluctant Hill Panel Passes $50 Rebate,” Washington Post, March 18, 1977.

  48 the radical ideas of “share-our-wealth”: Robert Mann, Legacy to Power: Senator Russell Long of Louisiana (Lincoln, NE: Authors Guild Backinprint.com Edition, 1992), pp. 22–29.

  49 Long could easily be underestimated: Ibid., p. 331.

  49 as Bill Proxmire once said admiringly: William Proxmire quotes collected on Thinkexist.com.

  49 Utterly straight with his colleagues: Mann, Legacy to Power, p. 329.

  49 “No question about it”: Ibid., p. 331.

  49 stopped drinking long ago: Ibid., pp. 286–291.

  49 not understanding Russell Long: Ibid., pp. 340–343, 346–347; Carter, White House Diary, pp. 43, 97–98, 102, 110, 141–142, 164–165.

  49 By March, emotions were running high in the Senate: Milius, “Reluctant Hill Panel Passes $50 Rebate.”

  50 after meeting with the president and congressional leaders: Edward Walsh, “Tax Rebate Seen Linked to Dam Projects,” Washington Post, April 6, 1977.

  50 columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak: Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, “A Self-Constructed Rebate Trap,” Washington Post, April 11, 1977.

  50 On April 12, Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall: “Marshall Sees Rebate Aiding Middle Class,” Associated Press, April 13, 1977.

  50 on April 14, in a stunning reversal: Edward Walsh, “He Warns Against New Spending,” Washington Post, April 15, 1977.

  51 Muskie raged to Charles Schultze: Interview with Madeleine Albright, August 25, 2010.

  51 Calling Carter’s decision “a disappointment”: Editorial, Washington Post, April 15, 1977.

  51 “wait until the M’s are called”: Bernard Asbell, The Senate Nobody Knows (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1978), pp. 120–121.

  51 “chicken shit”: Theo Lippman Jr. and Donald C. Hansen, Muskie (New York: W. W. Norton, 1971), p. 100.

  51 the least attractive set of committee assignments: Asbell, Senate Nobody Knows, p. 121; Lippman and Hansen, Muskie, p. 101.

  52 Muskie became the principal author and architect: MacKenzie and Weisbrot, Liberal Hour, pp. 211–213; Asbell, Senate Nobody Knows, p. 5; Annis, Howard Baker, pp. 46–48.

  52 acquitted himself extremely well: Theodore H. White, The Making of the President 1972 (New York: Atheneum, 1973), pp. 75–76; Lippman and Hansen, Muskie, pp. 16–19.

  52 campaign proved to be top-heavy and slow moving: White, Making of the President 1972, pp. 77–78.

  52 dissolved in the snows of New Hampshire: White, Making of the President 1972, pp. 8 1–83.

  53 the importance for Democrats to discover fiscal responsibility: Interview with Al From, January 19, 2011.

  53 in a scathing editorial: Editorial, Washington Post, April 15, 1977.

  54 On April 18, in a twenty-minute televised talk: Text of Carter’s address, “Carter: Oil and Natural Gas . . . Are Running Out,” Washington Post, April 19, 1977.

  54 On April 20, Carter sought the largest audience possible: Edward Walsh and J. P. Smith, “Back Energy Plan, Carter Urges Hill,” Washington Post, April 21, 1977.

  55 Humorist Russell Baker noted: “The Nation: The Energy War,” Time, May 2, 1977.

  55 Americans were responding positively: Ibid.

  55 Congressional leaders recognized the difficulties ahead: Ibid.

  55 O’Neill quickly announced the formation: Richard L. Lyons, “House Sets Up a Special Energy Panel,” Washington Post, April 22, 1977.

  55 moved quickly to address a festering problem: Parris, “Senate R
eorganizes Its Committees,” pp. 319–337. Parris was on the staff of the Temporary Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System, and the discussion of the reorganization draws heavily on her paper.

  56 Mansfield’s Senate also saw a rapid expansion of staff: Michael J. Malbin, Unelected Representatives: Congressional Staff and the Future of Representative Government (New York: Basic Books, 1979), pp. 10–16; Parris, “Senate Reorganizes Its Committees.”

  56 “a male preserve”: Quoted in Harry McPherson, A Political Education: A Washington Memoir (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988), p. xxiii. The ranks of women Senate staffers in professional positions greatly increased in the 1970’s, although off an extraordinarily small base.

  56 impressed by Stern’s academic and journalistic credentials: Interview with Paula Stern, July 13, 2010.

  57 “women aren’t allowed in the cloakroom”: Interview with Mary Jane Checchi, May 13, 2010.

  57 “I think you mean ‘gender,’ Senator”: Interview with Madeleine Albright, August 25, 2010.

  57 entrusting Dorothy Fosdick with great authority: Kaufman, Henry M. Jackson, pp. 83–85.

  57 if women were not allowed in the meetings: Interview with Susan Alvarado, October 11, 2010.

  57 the proliferation of committee and subcommittee assignments: Parris, “Senate Reorganizes Its Committees,” pp. 320–321.

  58 who would have jurisdiction over the oceans: Ibid., pp. 326–327.

  58 Hollings had spent the summers of 1939 and 1940: Ernest F. “Fritz” Hollings with Kirk Victor, Making Government Work (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), p. 153.

  59 reversed Stevenson’s recommendation: Parris, “Senate Reorganizes Its Committees,” pp. 326–328.

  59 indicated a willingness to support: Ibid., p. 324. In fact, Nelson, the chairman of the small business committee, only seemed to acquiesce. He encouraged his staff director to keep the small business community apprised of the plan to abolish the committee, which resulted in a predictable flood of political pressure and the committee staying in operation. Interview with Bill Cherkasky, December 3, 2010.