Word: caucused
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McCormack's most palpable failure so far this session came in his handling of the Adam Clayton Powell affair. Deeply averse to any break with precedent, he unsuccessfully resisted both the Democratic-caucus move to strip Powell of his committee chairmanship, and the full House action to take away his seat pending a formal investigation. McCormack's stand particularly irritated young, liberal Congressmen, who have been increasingly unhappy about the Speaker's intractably traditionalist position. What McCormack failed to consider was that many a colleague was under heavy pressure from constituents to chastise the flamboyant Negro Congressman...
...Congress. Restive Democrats ignored the party line laid down by 75-year-old Speaker John McCormack and Majority Leader Carl Albert (under doctor's orders to ease up after last year's heart attack), in refusing to seat Adam Clayton Powell (see following story). Earlier, a Democratic caucus had flouted McCormack's wishes and voted to kick out the Clerk of the House, Ralph Roberts, a widely disliked 16-year veteran in that post...
...very picture of cavalier confidence. Back from a two-month sojourn with his comely receptionist on the Bahamian isle of South Bimini, the Harlem Democrat bragged of his angling prowess. "Are you worried?" asked a reporter. Replied Powell: "Do I look it?" What would he say to the Democratic caucus? "I'm going to tell them," he purred, "to keep the faith, baby...
...they did-in part perhaps because of a Lou Harris poll reporting that public confidence in Congress had plummeted from 71% a year ago to 54%. When the Democratic caucus convened, Udall offered a resolution to strip Powell of his chairmanship, stipulating that he would nonetheless battle on the House floor to seat Powell pending a probe of his conduct. Declared Udall: "The people have the right to pick the Representative they want, but they do not have the right to tell the House who shall be chairman of a powerful committee...
This week's House Democratic caucus would doubtless approach the Powell problem with the utmost diffidence, even though the pressure was on to corral him. Sensing that this was the case, Powell issued a statement condemning efforts to dump him from his committee chairmanship as part of a "conspiracy of enormous dimensions." His critics, he said, "are trying to politically castrate one of America's most powerful Negro politicians." If they persist, Powell hinted, he would blow the whistle on other congressional sinners. And, though many if not most Negro leaders privately hold Powell in contempt, they were...