Word: spongings
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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THERE HAD been hints in 1965 and 1966 in the state and senatorial elections of the new vote from Northern Virginia and the Negroes and blacks. A moderate-then called a liberal-William Spong upset the Byrd Organization man for a Senate seat in 1966; a Republican had come close to winning the 1965 gubernatorial election. But though the Byrds looked in trouble going into 1969 (Virginia state elections are held the year following Presidential elections), all the political observers thought they would make a good battle...
...been active in party committees or conventions or anything like that," he says. His preference for legislation over political organizing reflects his view of himself as a lawyer rather than a politician; of course, it also testifies to the Byrd Organization's complete control of state Democratic machinery. Although Spong clearly represents a new political movement in the Old Dominion, National Committeeman Sydney Kellam, who has long been the Organization's chief strategist, still symbolizes Virginia Politics to Lyndon Johnson and his aides...
...Senator, Spong also considers his role to be legislative rather than political--"I've been keeping quiet and trying to do a good job on my committees, especially since they're dealing with things like highways and pollution that are important to urban areas...
...says, "I didn't do anything--I've set off a movement that will keep growing whether I do anything or not." The young lawyers who helped in his 1966 campaign are planning to move into politics for themselves, and "I couldn't stop them if I wanted to," Spong says...
...major questions in Virginia is how soon Spong will join the battle to elect the progressive leaders the state needs to cope with its emerging industrial and urban character. Despite his natural tendency to stay aloof from day-to-day political maneuvering, he feels that "this is something I can't just walk away from." It seems likely that in one or two years, after he has established himself in the Senate, Spong will take a much more active interest in "party committees and conventions"--as well as elections...