Word: mansfield
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Just Stay Away. Last week's pro-cloture forces were headed by Majority Leader Mike Mansfield. Nearing the end of a frustrating Senate session, and smarting under charges that his mild-mannered methods were at fault, Mansfield finally began to act like a Senate leader. White House aides were ready to get into the fight, but Mansfield, fearing that they would only irritate the Senators, asked them to stay clear. Then, with the help of Oklahoma's Robert Kerr, Mansfield went to work...
...problem was plain to see. The key to imposing cloture lay with Southern Senators-most of them dead set against the filibustering liberals but, by tradition and principle, violently opposed to cloture. First, Mansfield tried to persuade Georgia's Richard Russell to vote for cloture. Said Russell: "I'll vote to gag the Senate when shrimps start to whistle Dixie." In the vote, Russell cast a resounding "no." But significantly, he did not try to influence his Southern Senate followers...
That gave Mansfield his opening. If he could not talk the Southerners into voting for cloture, he could at least persuade them not to vote at all. Mansfield scheduled the vote for a day when a few anti-cloture Senators had good excuses to be away from Washington-Arkansas' William Fulbright found that he had a speaking engagement in New York, Nevada's Alan Bible and Arizona's Carl Hayden were on business trips home. At voting time, Virginians Harry Byrd and Willis Robertson, North Carolina's B. Everett Jordan and Arkansas' John McClellan simply...
...become the conscience of the Senate. It would be a little bit difficult for him to succeed in providing something for 100 Senators that there has not been too great evidence he has been able to provide for himself." In another outburst of irritation Morse repudiated Majority Leader Mansfield and Whip Humphrey ("They are not my majority leader and my whip"), and all but called gentle, patient Mike Mansfield a liar...
...Amazing & Dissonant." Delighted Republicans found it impossible to hold their silence. Arizona's Barry Goldwater sarcastically wondered aloud whether ex-Republican Morse was considering a switch back to the G.O.P. side of the aisle. Illinois' mellow-voiced Minority Leader Everett McKinley Dirksen arose to "protect" Mansfield against Morse. "Let me pay tribute to the humility and forbearance of the majority leader," said Republican Dirksen. "I know what a humble character he is. He has made an effort to harmonize 100 diverse personalities in the U.S. Senate. O great God, what an amazing and dissonant 100 personalities there...