Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate

by Marc C. Johnson

The U.S. Senate is so sharply polarized along partisan and ideological lines today that it’s easy to believe it was always this way. But in the turbulent 1960s, even as battles over civil rights and the war in Vietnam dominated American politics, bipartisanship often prevailed. One key two remarkable leaders who remain giants of the Senate—Republican leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois and Democratic leader Mike Mansfield of Montana, the longest-serving majority leader in Senate history, so revered for his integrity, fairness, and modesty that the late Washington Post reporter David Broder called him “the greatest American I ever met.” The political and personal relationship of these party leaders, extraordinary by today’s standards, is the lens through which Marc C. Johnson examines the Senate in that tumultuous time.

Working together, with the Democrat often ceding public leadership to his Republican counterpart, Mansfield and Dirksen passed landmark civil rights and voting rights legislation, created Medicare, and helped bring about a foundational nuclear arms limitation treaty. The two leaders could not have been more different in personality and Mansfield, a laconic, soft-spoken, almost shy college history professor, and Dirksen, an aspiring actor known for his flamboyance and sense of humor, dubbed the “Wizard of Ooze” by reporters. Drawing on extensive Senate archives, Johnson explores the congressional careers of these iconic leaders, their intimate relationships with Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and their own close professional friendship based on respect, candor, and mutual affection.

A study of politics but also an analysis of different approaches to leadership, this is a portrait of a U.S. Senate that no longer exists—one in which two leaders, while exercising partisan political responsibilities, could still come together to pass groundbreaking legislation—and a reminder of what is possible.
 

Genres: History

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2023

Reviews

[Gary Sosniecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember sitting at a picnic table with U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen and a handful of fellow Teen Age Republicans on a warm afternoon during his 1968 reelection campaign. The table was one of several on the grounds of a major Republican donor in the Chicago suburbs. A photo, shared recently by a friend, shows Dirksen in a white shirt and tie — no coat — talking to another of our friends, also in a white shirt. My impression was that the ailing, 72-year-old Dirksen, who would win a fourth term but die the next year, would have preferred to be anywhere else that day, yet he took time to meet with young people from, in the 1960s, the most-Republican county in the United States. A few months later, on election night, six of us from our suburban high school helped update vote-tally boards for Dirksen’s victory celebration at Chicago’s Pick-Congress Hotel. We heard him speak that night, too.

Dirksen’s legacy has fascinated me since that campaign. I still have a copy of his surprisingly popular “Gallant Men” record album. I insist that we plant a few marigolds — Dirksen’s favorite flowers — every spring. And, when I read a Jan. 3 review in the Wall Street Journal of Marc C. Johnson’s book, “Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate,” I knew I had to order a copy.

“Mansfield and Dirksen” is a dual biography of these political giants of their era, Mansfield, a Democrat, the Senate majority leader; Dirksen, a Republican, the Senate minority leader. It was an era of bipartisanship, a word that doesn’t seem to be in the congressional dictionary today. Mansfield and Dirksen developed a close friendship and worked together to ensure than important legislation passed, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “a triumph of bipartisanship that began the still-unfinished work of reorienting American law and attitudes about race and equality, remains the single most significant piece of legislation passed during the twentieth century.” (page 191)

At times, “Mansfield and Dirksen” is a slow read. But to a political junkie who grew up in this era, it’s fascinating.

Coming from Illinois, I already knew much of Dirksen’s background (although it was a surprise that he was an early supporter of disgraced Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s.) But I knew little about Mansfield. I learned that he was one of the classiest, smartest and honest persons ever to serve in Senate leadership. Mansfield “was determined to elevate civil rights by elevating the Senate. Mansfield wanted to pass a bill but not create a confrontation so bitter that it would poison relationships and permanently tarnish the Senate.” (page 170)

Dirksen’s philosophy was revealed in responding to criticism of President Eisenhower by Sen. Wayne Morse of Oregon. Dirksen said:

“I hope we can be a little more circumspect in the way in which we talk about one another. We can speak and still maintain the intensity of our political disagreements. But to do so does not call for personal castigation or reflection upon character. I can only hope, out of a sense of pain and distress, rather than anger, that we can watch our tongues and make certain that false impressions are not created abroad, impressions which can do no good to the esteem of this country, its people or its noble and beloved leader.” (page 81)

One final personal note: On the day after Christmas, 1962, Mansfield and President Kennedy met in Palm Beach and spent the afternoon sailing on the presidential yacht. While sailing, Kennedy read Mansfield’s report on Vietnam, which Mansfield had visited. Mansfield’s critical report of American foreign policy did not make JFK happy. (page 139) I know that President Kennedy was happier 24 hours earlier when my family, by chance, saw a smiling Kennedy and Jackie leave church in Palm Beach.

I wish every member of today’s Congress would read this book.

[Earl Ecklund III · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Marc Johnson examines the relationship between Mike Mansfield and Everett Dirksen when both men were the leaders of their parties in the U.S. Senate from 1961-69.

Johnson traces both men's rise to power and their willingness to work together for the greater good on issues such as the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963, Civil Rights laws in 1964, 1965 & 1968 and Satellite Communications in 1962.

Mansfield was unique in his style of leadership in which he treated everyone equally and often chose to remain in the background and freely give credit to others include Dirksen. Mansfield was a former history professor and an expert on East Asian affairs who frequently disagreed with U.S. policy in Vietnam.

Surprisingly Mansfield was a Kennedy confidant while Dirksen served that role with Lyndon Johnson, a president whom Dirksen did not always agree with over domestic policy.

Marc Johnson frequently points out the contrast between the Senate of the 1960s and that of today when bipartisanship and substance has been replaced by form and dilatory tactics. Mansfield himself said it best when he said the real power lay with these in the center, not on either the left or right, because they could see both sides.

Sadly the partnership ended when Dirksen died in September 1969 after being in ill health for some time. Dirksen's death was front page news while Mansfield's entire career has largely been overlooked.

A great book showing how our government can work when people in power are willing to work together.

[Diane]

From the Wall Street Journal 1/3/2024 by Philip Terzian: "Mr. Johnson’s thesis is that opposites attracted, in this instance, and that the Mansfield-Dirksen partnership was not merely personal—he makes a persuasive case that their mutual affection was genuine—but a model of the way the system was intended to work. The bipartisan spirit of the age, he believes, made the 1960s Senate an ideal of informed debate, pragmatic compromise and, not least, historic progress. But of course, progress and the smooth machinery of democracy are in the eye of the beholder, For the legislative achievements he celebrates...were all instances of the minority deferring to the majority. Mansfield was invariably courteous, and Dirksen won occasional skirmishes, but the die was always cast not by civic harmony but by cold arithmetic."

[Kody Keckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up after I heard it mentioned as a testament to bipartisanship on a daytime news show. Indeed, Johnson tells a story of two senate leaders in the 60s and specifically highlights how their relationship allowed them to work together to advance popular legislation. Johnson argues that Mansfield (D-MN) and Dirksen (R-IL) would consult each other over matters "big and small," and that each took great care to avoid major disagreements when possible. Of course, the political mise-en-scène in the 60s was drastically different than it is today. Intraparty ideological differences often fell along geographic lines, and many political subjects had not been nationalized to the extent that they are now. Additionally, infrastructure like the filibuster in the Senate encouraged greater bipartisan cooperation. That said, the two were such great partners that the Democratic president struggled to endorse Dirksen's opponent in the 1962 Senate race, and Mansfield offered only effusive praise for Dirksen. Unthinkable in today's environment.

I found this book helpful in understanding the institution's history, as well as some of our nation's history more broadly. In the Senate, there was more power disbursed to those not in leadership -- committees were shown more deference, individual senators had more ability to manage legislation, there was greater equality among senior and junior members, and they even saw true deliberation happen as part of everyday business. And nationally, the 60s covered a lot of ground -- including the assassination of JFK, the civil rights movement, Social Security Act, and the war in Vietnam. I enjoyed getting a new perspective on some of these events and legislation, and the role that the Senate played in each.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before cracking the covers of Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate, I looked up Marc C. Johnson’s other books to see what the chances might be that he would tackle his subject evenhandedly. When I saw he had written a book blaming the rise of Trump on Republican radicalism which can be traced (he believes) to Democrat losses in four key senate races stretching all the way back to 1980, I had my doubts. (I mean, even moderate Democrats at the time partially blamed the left swerve of their own party for Trump's rise.) But I began Mansfield and Dirksen anyway and for two reasons: One, I’m a sucker for any book with the word “bipartisan” in its subtitle; and two, I’m also a sucker for anything the University of Oklahoma Press sends me.

I’m certainly glad they sent this one. Although this is essentially the story of Democrats and one “good” Republican (quotation marks mine)—it’s also informative, intriguing and, yes, largely evenhanded.

The central characters—Democrat Mike Mansfield of Montana (try saying that 10 times fast), and Republican Everett Dirksen of Illinois—were fast friends and senate leaders, majority and minority respectively, during an era when working relationships across party lines were apparently possible. The two senators were not just from opposing parties; they seemed to be from completely different planets. Mansfield never had a press secretary and hated having his photo taken while Dirksen posed for the cover of TIME, appeared on the TV show, What’s My Line, and won a Grammy for a patriotic recording. Both men gave speeches, but while Mansfield's were limited to what he wrote down ahead of time, Dirksen was noted for his lengthy extemporaneous pontifications.

Speaking of speeches, Mansfield gave one in 1962 on the senate floor to mark and honor the 30th anniversary of Dirksen’s political career. Nothing unusual about that—what’s an effusive speech between good friends? ---except that it obviously did nothing to help Dirksen’s Democrat opponent, Sidney Yates, who was at that time running a tight campaign against Dirksen. It appears that even JFK wanted Dirksen to defeat Yates. When the tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis had passed and Dirksen wanted to leave Washington and return to the campaign trail, JFK replied, “What are you talking about? You’re as good as in.”

How is it possible that the two most powerful Democrats in Washington were rooting for the reelection of a Republican senator? Johnson’s thoroughly researched and well-written book, filled with such anecdotes, explains why, illuminating a bygone era in American politics.

[James Heffernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It's sort of a wish book of a time when Senators from different parties could cooperate and do what was best for the country. I think the years they were majority leaders of opposing parties in the Senate (1960-1969), may have been a high-water mark for Senate integrity and respectability.
I thought the author did a wonderful job of combining sufficient detail about the history of the times and stories of their personal lives. I came away with a much better understanding of the times I lived through as a teenager and admiration for both men.