By
Lora J. Mackel
Some people in life are just blessed with a magnetic personality. Strom Thurmond, the very senior senator of South Carolina, seems to be one of those special people. Looming larger than life in the Senate, Strom Thurmond has infused the government with his own special brand of nonsensical conservatism.
But like all legendary mortal men, Strom's influence over the Senate must come to an end. At 98, the once-strong senator's health is failing. In drama befitting his larger-than-life personality, Thurmond's Senate seat, once vacated, could disrupt the balance of the Senate and have strong implications on the national scene.
Thurmond is undeniably an American institution. He was first elected to the Senate in 1954 as a write-in candidate, and has been a presence ever since. Known as a friend of the common man in his home state, he has been re-elected every time he has run. He is so popular that Republicans counted his seat as their No. 1 stronghold.
As an old statesman, Thurmond holds some prime real estate in trust for the Republican party. He is the ranking member of the Senate's Armed Service Committee, holds a senior seat on the Judiciary Committee and also holds the senior chair on the committee for Veterans Affairs.
Even if Strom is not the most mentally lucid member of the Senate, Republicans feel his presence on these committees is beneficially benign.
Popular or not, Republicans realized that the good times and good man they have in Thurmond could not last forever. Thurmond's last campaign, run in 1996, places him in the Senate past his 100th birthday.
Up until recently, Thurmond had been equal to the task. All his staff had to do to manufacture the image of coherence was to put a pretty female staff member in Senator Thurmond's line of sight.
That sight is failing now, and the once-familiar blur of bright orange hair plodding across the Capitol has slowed to a geriatric gait.
As popular as Thurmond is, it's not just his health that Republicans worry about.
To further complicate the Thurmond situation, South Carolina currently has a Democratic governor. If Strom dies, there is an overwhelming possibility that he would appoint a Democrat to fill the seat.
So real is the possibility that Thurmond will leave his post (don't you just love euphemisms) that the South Carolinian state assembly has tried to pass measures to ensure that the Senate seat goes to a Republican.
Thurmond's seat is clearly pivotal in national politics. If a Democrat is appointed, it would have significant impact on the Senate. Sen. Majority Leader Trent Lott would be unseated as Majority Leader, and all new committee leaders would be appointed. With a Senate so evenly divided, even one new Democrat could shift the balance of power. That is, if people still believe there is an actual difference between the parties right now.
Of course, all of this is just speculation until Thurmond dies. There is a distinct possibility that he might never die.
But he makes such a colorful contribution, so who really wants him to die?
Thurmond holds the affection of his state and the nation for two very distinct reasons. First, he is just hilarious. Staffers and journalists fondly recount how unabashedly grabby the senator is around "pretty ladies."
And second, everyone is curious to see just how long this man can last. His tenure in office has passed that point where we can just turn away without wondering what would have happened next. Like driving past the scene of an accident, the nation just cannot rip its eyes away.
No matter what happens, when Thurmond leaves the Senate, the nation will lose one of its largest characters. It is a curious fact that in 1964, Thurmond changed his party allegiance from Democrat to Republican.
Thurmond's seat, held for so many years in Republican hands, will change back to Democratic when he dies. Sometimes, fate just cannot be escaped.
