THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
E s Letter Editor Weldon Cooper Vol. 45, o. 6 Institute of Government, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 February 15, 1969
THE CHANGING STYLE OF VIRGINIA POLITICS By GEORGE M. KELLEY
After more than 40 years of adherence fixation by the Organization on getting Those two moves, in themselv s, mark to the conservative principles of the late by with as little as possible. the turning of a corner in Virginia Ha y Flood Byrd, the entrenched old "Spending money for the demonstrated politics because such would have been giant of Virginia politics - the Democratic needs of the state doesn't mean you are impossible in the political climate of the Organization - is moving toward a new less conservative," Governor Godwin said tate between the 1920's and 1960. political stance. That in itself underscores in a recent interview. "The change is a that a new brand of politics is emerging natural evolution of the times ... the THE ORGANIZATIO in the Commonwealth. result of industrialization and intellectual It was as Governor from 1926-30 that Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., a pro concern for public education. We're con Harry Byrd, a rosy cheeked genteel man duct of the Organization's heydays under vinced a majority of Virginians want re with a genius for measuring the political Byrd's leadership, describes the still de sponsive conservatism." temperament of hi time, began building veloping changes as no more than an How did this desire for "responsive the Organization into a Virginia political adjustment. He calls it a move to "re conservatism" come about? It came from institution. The fact that it ha urvived sponsive conservatism." the "responsible" people of the State, the storms and challenges since the Byrd evertheless, sharp differences between Governor said, as Virginia's economy gubernatorial years indicate the "old the old and the new stance already are boomed with the arrival of the 1960's shoe" comfort with which the tate' discernible. Pay-as-you-go for capital out and the demise of the Organization-led voters generally accepted it. lay needs, the unbending fiscal doctrine massive resistance to school integration. Yet, perhaps no political machine ha ever been more carefully structured to on which Byrd built the Organization into Whether the 19,55-1959 massive resis provide the necessary vote margin for a seemingly unbeatable political machine, tance years "bought the needed time" for entrenchment. And the roots of the truc is giving way to a more viable means for non-violent acceptance of racial mixing turing go back to the la t major re i ion providing facilities when needed, rather as the Organization contends - is a matter of the Constitution in 1928, under the than when the cash is available. The drift for historians to determine. The concern leadership of Byrd. is toward modern business concepts of here is Virginia's changing politics which, That revision brought the "short ballot" fiscal soundness with borrowing to finance by the Governor's own words, became the to Virginia by providing for the popular capital improvements. concern of the Organization. election of only three State government Old Organization inclinations to look " 11 of us knew in 1959 that what re officials - the Governor, Lieutenant Gov on the tate government as a preserve for mained of massive resi tance was a thing ernor, and ttorney G neral. P w r, in it tried and true gentlemanly members of the past," Godwin said. "We had cluding the appointment of all tate de also are fading. The image of the "private bought all the time possible through club" is changing to that of the "open partment heads, was concentrated in the honorable means, and that was the extent Governor, and a State Compensation door" for governmental participation by of our commitment. representatives of all political groups. Board, also appointed, was created to set "A moderation et in ... the people Membership on all major committees of salaries for local level con titutional of were ahead of the politicians, I found out the General Assembly was opened for the ficers (sheriffs, treasurer, ommon in 1964 and 1965." fir t time to Republicans, and even anti wealth's attorney, etc.). Organization Democrats, in 1968. Godwin was elected Governor in 1965, With this concentration of power in the and since taking office he has successfully Governor and with key local politicians I CREASE I SERVICE LEVELS brought about the State's first general having to look to Mr. J effer on' cIa ic new political sensitivity to the level obligation bond issue - $81 million for State House in Richmond for alary in of services needed by the people also is college and nlenta1 health facilities - in creases, the Organization wa on it way. emerging. Efforts to provide what is neces this century. A major revi ion of the The court hou es aero the Common sary for the well-being of all Virginians, Virginia Constitution, that promises to wealth, out of which mo t local govern even if costs are greater, have replaced open the way for easier adjustments to ments operated, soon evolved into Organi what critics long have claimed to be a the rapid technical advancements of the zation strongholds. times, and to problems brought on by To say the capture of the court hou e The author is Head of the Richmond Bureau of The Virginian-Pilot. urbanization, has been launched by him. was the key to the development of th 22
THE UNIVERSI~"Y OF VIRGINIA The net result was a political system itself as the younger people were lured that frustrated Organization challengers. to the fast-growing new urban centers. NEWS Letter S.a~e residue of the Organization's poli The Virginia Republican Party, long tIckIng methods remains even today, but stymied by the Organization's conserva Assistant Editor it is limited to counties still oriented to tism, also began attracting new blood as RALPH EISENBERG farming. old party leaders gave way to new ones Published on the 15th of each month from who envisioned political potential in tak THE ANTI-ORGANIZATION September through August by the Institute ing stands that were less conservative than of Government, University of Virginia, Char The arch enemy of the Organization that of the Organization. In 1953, RepUb lottesville, Virginia 22903. The views and always has been the band of Delllocratic opinions expressed herein are those of the " lican Ted Dalton, then a State Senator, author, and are not to be interpreted as liberals who through the years have be took on Democratic Organization nominee representing the official position of the In come known simply as the anti-Organi Thomas B. Stanley and lost by only stitute or the University. zation. rrhe strength of the liberals has 42,991 votes on a platform that included Entered as second-class matter January 2, been slow in developing, and it was not 1925, at the post office at Charlottesville, bond issues to finance highways. Virginia, under the act of August 24, 1912. until 1946 that they were able to mount a significant challenge by running Martin THE YOUNG TURKS Printed by the A. Hutchinson against Byrd. The race A restlessness also began to take hold UNIVERSITY PRINTING OFFICE for the Senate seat was a political sensa on what many Organization men con tion, ~J~!!:.ough Byrd w0I! !landily. sidered to be "a bright crop" of future Organization is an over-simplification. The first real threat, as the Orga~iz;- politiCal prospects that began WInning election to the Assembly in 1947. There were many other factors, includ tion men now view it, came three years The Organization system for climbing ing the insistence of Harry Byrd on later when Francis Pickens Miller, a schol the political ladder called for service in frugality and integrity in government arly man with all the -attributes liked by the Legislature. Every governor, includ and that Organization-backed candidates Virginians, was the liberal candidate for ing Byrd, had come up through service for legislative and other positions of\'pub Governor. The primary was bitter, and either in the House of Delegates or lic trust be men of similar conviction. A so were the results. It was the nearest Senate, or in both, and such service even strong love for tradition and the Virginia the liberals have come, as yet, to taking today is considered basic in preparing "way of life" also was a prerequisite. The the governorship from the Organization. for the big political posts. combination of all these factors, parti (One non-Organization governor was cularly in the years prior to urbanization, elected in 1937 in the person of James Accordingly, an ambitious young Or understandably could be the basis of why H. Price. But the Organization, in recog ganization man took steps immediately Virginians could look on the Organization. nition of Price's popularity, fielded no after his election to get assigned to choice as being as natural as spoon bread and candidate and then blocked his program committees where he could prove himself. Smithfield ham. through its control of the General As The procedure usually was to have the sembly.) top man in the home county court house THE COURT HOUSE The 1949 gubernatorial primary fea write letters of assurance to the House 'The court houses, nevertheless, stood tured John S. Battle of Charlottesville as Speaker, or other influential Organization as the indispensable cog in the machinery the Organization candidate. At the outset members, that the soon-to-arrive fresh for electing Organization men. The "court his chances were affected by the third man member could be vouched for as house boys" could encourage the "right" candidacy of· former Richmond Mayor being "politically sound." If the Organi people to hurdle the poll tax and qualify Horace Edwards, and a weaker fourth zation leadership was convinced, the new as voters, and then turn them out for candidate, Petersburg businessman Rem member usually ended up on at least one appearances by Organization candidates mie Arnold. Battle edged Miller by only important committee. and again when the polls opened on elec 23,729 votes after RepUblicans invaded RepUblicans and non-Organization leg tion day. the primary at the invitation of their islators, until the reforms of 1968, could Communication with the court houses State Chairman. hope-for- little "more-than an assignment was maintained and nurtured, even in While Republicans later claimed their to committees that never met because non-election periods. Friendly personal votes saved the Organization, the en legislation was never assigned to them. visits by inner circle members of the trenched forces who had won with Battle When the major committees were in ses Organization, such as E. R. Combs, first showed no embarrassment: They still con sion, the minor committee members often Comptroller ,and then Clerk of the Vir trolled the State House and were safe for could be seen roaming the halls of the Capitol. At the same time, some Organi ginia Senate from 1940 to 1957 (he was four more years. zation men were holding seats on two or also Chairman of the Compensation TROUBLED POLITICS three important committees and had to Board for part of the time) was a routine Actually, the 1949 primary was the first run from committee room to committee part of the keep-in-touch system. Tele sign that the Organization was approach room so as to get recorded on roll calls phone calls to key court house representa ing an era of troubled politics. A migra on bills. tives from the Governor's office, or from tion into Virginia had come about with The system showed signs of falling Harry Byrd ·himself after he moved up the ending of World War II, the birth apart in 1954. A rebellion erupted in the to the ~.S. Senate in 1933, were not in rate zoomed, and much of the State's old House of Delegates with young Organi frequent. rural popUlation slowly began to deplete zation men at the heart of it. It was known as the "Young' Turk" uprising BYRD'S FINAL CAMPAIGN of the vote, and Godwin polled just less and was focus'~d on what the "Turks" , The 1961 primary was the last of the than 49 percent of the total and became described as an unrealistic appropriation old classic clashes between the Organi the first Governor elected without a for mental hospitals. The fight tied the zation and the anti-Organization. It was majority vote. Assembly into a prolonged day and all to be the final time Harry Byrd himself Political stability continued to be night session before the Organization would be m4de a part of a party fight elusive, even after Godwin launched his bowed to the young men and added some for the gubernatorial nomination. program of changes. In 1966 a new faction additional money for mental hospitals. A. E. S. Stephens of Smithfield, an Or of Democratic moderates formed and put But the political significance was that ganization veteran, who was dropped William B. Spong, Jr. in the U.S. Senate also behind the rebellion was a deep dis when, as Lieutenant Governor, he stuck by toppling 79-year old Willis Robertson satisfaction with the system for political with Governor Almond, carried the' who balked at the suggestion of party advancement. Doors did not open as the anti-Organizatjon banner. Some of the leaders that he step aside for a younger young politicians had hoped, and even tone of the old liberal vs. conservative man. aged officeholders showed no signs of an campaigns was sounded on May 12, 1961, Spong defeated Robertson by a razor intention ever to step down. when Stephens campaigned in Winches thin margin of 611 votes, while Harry ter, Byrd's home base. Byrd, Jr. defeated his more liberal chal MASSIVE RESISTANCE "It always thrills me to come here," lenger, Armistead L. Boothe, by 8,225 As Organization leaders braced them he said in opening his speech. "I suppose votes. Byrd was running for the remainder selves for what the seeds of the Young it's because I get a tremendous sensation of his father's unexpired Senate term, Turk rebellion might produce, the U.S. of being very, very close to the source and Boothe had come closer than any Supreme Court handed down its school of power ... or, maybe it's because com one else in running against a Byrd. desegregation ruling. Within a year Vir ing to Winchester allows me a precious In 1968, as the presidential year State ginia began moving into massive resis feeling of independence. Democratic Convention opened in Salem, tance and many of the politically promis "I am grateful that I am one of Vir liberals and the new Spong moderates ing Young Turks began dropping out of ginia's few remaining servants who can joined forces and almost broke the Or the Assembly and were lost as prospective come here and go home without a new ganization's long hold on the party's in leaders. set of orders." ternal operations. Although not a part of the rebellion, It was clear the Organization had to one of the post World War II crop of T'HE NEW ORDER adjust its policies as well as its operating young legislators who stayed with the sys The Organization won once again, but techniques, if it hoped to survive. De tem was Mills Godwin. He came to the the old order was giving way to a new pendence on local level politicians to House of Delegates as the man who un one. Byrd's health was waning and Har turn out the vote was a thing of the past. seated Organization incumbent Willis rison and Godwin, as Governor and Cohoon for the Suffolk-Nansemond House Lieutenant Governor, were aware that CAMPAIGN EXPENSES seat in the 1947 primary. No major com· something was happening to weaken the The need for more and more reliance mittees opened to him in the 1948 ses once broad voter base of the Organization. on television and special press conferences sion. Godwin focused the attention of the already had been recognized. In 1949 it Godwin's troubles were compounded State on industrial development, and had cost the Organization only $46,370, in 1949 when he supported Horace Ed moved into the big cities and counties. according to figures filed with the State wards for the governorship, and he con By 1965 he had changed his image from Board of Elections, in its all-out effort to sequently was not fully accepted by the that of the massive resister to one of the win the gubernatorial nomination for John Battle. By the 1961 gubernatorial Organization until he moved to the man who could lead the State forward. primary the expenditures were over Senate in 1952. With his eye then on the Noone, either from the Organization or the anti-camp, was in a position seri $100,000 with half of the sum spent for governorShip, he went down the line ously to challenge him, and with the aid exposure of candidates via the media. with the Organization, and was its most of Organization strategist Sidney S. Kel In the 1965 general election when· God articulate spokesman on massive resist lam of Virginia Beach, a remarkable "con win clashed with Holton, $151,213 was ance and' other political issues. And he sensus" of liberals, Negro voters, and spent by the Organization for television, stayed with the Organization in 1960 Organization followers was put together. bill boards, surveys (polls), and news when it cooled to Governor J. Lindsay Godwin had only to take on RepUblican paper advertising. The overall campaign Almond, Jr. because he showed acceptance Linwood Holton and the Organization cost was in excess of $200,000. And Willis of integration in his freedom of choice hold on the State House remained un Robertson reported expending over plan for school attendance. broken. $250,000 in losing to Spong in the 1966 primary. There is no doubt that Godwin's stands The 1965 clash with the GOP was not with the Organization paved the way for an easy one. Right wing elements of the Candidates already in the field for the old Organization, sensing a drift from the gubernatorial nomination in 1969 are him to be on the 1961 primary ticket with Byrd conservatism was underway, broke putting even more concentration on get the gubernatorial choice of that year, away and fielded William J. Story as the ting to the voter through the information Albertis S. Harrison, Jr. He was moved candidate of a new Virginia Conservative media. They are talking in terms of into the number two elective post, the Party. Story, campaigning on a massive primary campaign costs that will reach lieutenant governorShip. resistance line, polled nearly 14 percent the half-million dollar level, and insist 24 it is the only effective way to stir voter after a close call the Organization some zation will never have the Harry Byrd interest in the heavy voting urban areas. how seems to find a way to bounce back. touch again, but keeping a remodeled The Organization, through the years, Governor Godwin, by virtue of his version of the old machine in the fore has been written off by out-of-state news office, has inherited the mantel of Or papers as a fading political machine ganization leadership and his ties to it front of Virginia politics is what the busi particularly after elections where its vic are too strong to permit it to fall apart ness of adjustment to "responsive con tory margins have been narrowed. But because of lack of effort. The Organi- servatism" is all about.
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THE U IVERSITY OF VIRGI IA Entered as second class matter NEWS Letter Charlottesville, Virginia Institute of Government Charlottesville, Virginia