Word: byrds
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Arriving at the Senate shortly before 11 a.m. last Monday in his conspicuous two-car caravan, Mondale went directly to Byrd's office, where he was briefed on what he should do and given his script. He raised no objection. "He didn't know anything that I was going to do until he came in here," Byrd insisted later...
...Byrd laid out his scheme at a meeting of key Democratic Senators and Republican Howard Baker, the minority leader. Byrd proposed calling up the remaining 300 or so amendments and immediately getting them ruled out of order. The group decided that Mondale should preside over the session, reading rulings from a prepared script and ensuring that Byrd could hold the floor without interruption while the amendments were being killed...
...Senate floor, meanwhile, the Byrd scheme was pushing toward an explosive conclusion. As Byrd rose, Abourezk walked up the steps to Mondale's chair. "You're not going along with this, are you?" he asked bitingly. Flushed and tense, Mondale snapped, "You can be sure I'm going to do the right thing...
...Byrd, reading from his prepared script, began by arguing that the chair was "required to take the initiative under Rule 22 to rule out of order all amendments which are dilatory or which on their face are out of order." Responded Mondale, also plainly reading from a script, "The point is well taken, and the chair will take the initiative...
...Then Byrd moved in for the kill. He started calling up amendment after amendment, and Mondale, just as rapidly, ruled each amendment out of order. In just nine minutes, 33 amendments were axed. It was an unprecedented way to short-circuit Senate business, and dozens of enraged Senators leaped to their feet to protest. Mondale stonily recognized only Byrd...