More on Strom
A few more words on Strom.
I do not, as some do, consider him to have been evil incarnate, and I do believe that he evolved, personally and politically, vis-à-vis race.
The post by Bryan that prompted my response was a query as to how Strom would be remembered, and a general assessment of his legacy. While brief, and not especially positive, I think my assessment below is fair.
Some more comments, and a summation:
Aside from anything else, Strom’s age was something that troubled me (as have the ages of many other Senators on both sides of the aisle: Byrd, Bob Smith of NH, Jesse Helms, to name a few). I respect the rights of the voters in those states to send whom they choose to Washington, but have often wondered why voters send back incumbents who are clearly experiencing diminished mental capacity. And there can be no argument that was not the case with Strom. Another example is Bob Smith’s primary campaign against now-Senator Sununu. Smith was clearly struggling (as he had in office).
And age, race-issues, and other factors aside, the bottom line is that Strom was not a particularly powerful force legislatively. Rather he was a generic supporter of the military (which I applaud) and was very good at getting money spent on his state (which is something I have mixed feeling on, as on the one hand, that is part of the job, but on the other, if one is overly good at it, that means an inordinate amount of tax dollars are going to a specific state, which I decry).
And in re: Byrd, I would repost what I said in the comments below: I do agree that Byrd gets, and will get in death, a larger pass on the racism issue. I will say, to be fair, that Byrd has been a far greater force legislatively, and in terms of his influence over the years on the rules and procedures of the Senate than Thurmond ever was. So as much as Robert Byrd annoys me, he has been a far more significant member of the Senate than Strom was by any objective measure.
I would summarize my views as follows: from a dispassionate and professional view, Strom had a largely unremarkable Senate career aside from two factors: the politics of race during the first half of his career, and his longevity. Beyond that there isn't all that much to distinguish him. Yes, good and bad can be found in the details of his career, but they would hardly put him in the pantheon of the great legislators of our country.
For a more positive review, please visit Backcountry Conservative, who has an extensive post on this topic, one that deserves to be read, if anything to reward Jeff for his hard work. Further, as a native South Carolinian, he clearly has a different perspective on this issue. Although I do take some exception to his classification of conservatives who criticize Strom as being “self-loathing.” But will assume that he didn't mean me :)
Posted by Steven Taylor at June 29, 2024 10:59 AM
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