Mastery of the Senate: Robert C. Byrd's Democratic Leadership, 1977–1989

Abstract

Mastery of the Senate:Robert C. Byrd's Democratic Leadership, 1977–1989 Donald A. Ritchie West Virginia senator Robert C. Byrd placed his legislative leadership style somewhere between those of his two immediate predecessors, Lyndon B. Johnson and Mike Mansfield. In the Johnson mold, Byrd employed the Senate's rules assertively "to force legislation forward." Akin to Mansfield, he took pains to accommodate his colleagues' opinions and needs, rather than cajoling or threatening. Beyond those qualities, Byrd uniquely added an encyclopedic knowledge of the Senate's procedures and a deft skill in applying them. Other senators admired his "instinctive understanding of the Senate, both its larger purpose and its inner working," which he used to his advantage. Martin Gold, who served as a parliamentary adviser to Senate Republicans, observed that Byrd's biography might not be titled Master of the Senate, after Robert Caro's study of LBJ's leadership, "but it probably could be called Mastery of the Senate, because that's really it."1 By the time that Robert Byrd became Democratic leader in 1977, he had already spent a decade handling Senate floor work for the majority party.2 While most senators typically came to the Senate Chamber only to preside, to speak, or to follow some pending legislation, Byrd relished being on the Senate floor daily. He spent a large share of his time there, just watching and listening. He studied procedures and paid close attention to the senior senators who chaired the committees and managed key legislation. A self-made and largely self-taught man, Byrd set out to educate himself on parliamentary practice through a series of private special seminars with the Senate's parliamentarian, and by repeatedly reading through the thick volume of Senate procedures. His constant presence on the floor also enabled him to undertake many small tasks for fellow senators. "He loves the floor," a fellow senator commented anonymously. "He loves the detail. He'll [End Page 1] stay there endless hours with all the mechanics that would just bore me to death."3 Byrd advanced through the party's leadership by defeating more liberal challengers. In 1967 he beat Pennsylvania senator Joseph Clark and Oklahoma senator Fred Harris for the position of conference secretary, and in 1971 he successfully challenged the "Liberal Lion," Massachusetts senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy, for whip. With each step upward, Byrd shed some of his conservative states-rights views for a more moderate political stance and a broader constitutional perspective. Where he had not voted for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, for instance, he used his parliamentary skills to overcome procedural obstacles and win passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1975. Byrd's shift to the political center enabled him to present himself as a unifying force within his party, as well as someone who could winnow enough support from the opposition party to meet the Senate's supermajority requirements—that sixty votes were needed to achieve cloture and cut off debate on contentious issues. As whip, Byrd excelled in counting heads to anticipate votes, and he negotiated countless compromises to move Senate business forward. Regarding legislation as the art of compromise, he insisted that did not mean compromising one's principles: "it means finding a middle road or a legislative middle ground which commands the support of the majority." He adopted a retail approach to these tasks, making the case one senator at a time, issue by issue, which won him respect for his energy and persistence. "That's the big word for Senator Byrd: persistence," observed Senate historian Richard Baker. "He wouldn't let go of it until he achieved it."4 From 1971 to 1976, Robert Byrd served as whip under Mike Mansfield, a largely hands-off majority leader who regarded all senators as equal and expected them to pull their own legislative weight. Mansfield appreciated Byrd's willingness to spend so much time in the chamber managing the day-to-day business. He could count on Byrd to enforce the rules, keep Democratic senators informed of pending business, poll senators, and marshal their votes. Byrd as whip came to regard the Senate as a "workshop as well as a debating...