[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 76 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5304-S5305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO SENATOR STROM THURMOND--THE SENIOR SENATOR

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise today to add in a small way to the 
many tributes being offered on behalf of one of our colleagues.
  There are persons lucky enough to witness history, and persons wise 
enough to study history. Then there are those few who are dynamic 
enough to make history.
  This week we honor someone who has made more history than most--our 
distinguished President pro tempore, Strom Thurmond.
  Strom Thurmond was born during the Presidential term of Theodore 
Roosevelt--probably the only other person in the 20th century to have a 
comparable energy level.
  And in the same way TR launched America on the great adventure of the 
20th century, Strom Thurmond has been a real force in building up and 
guiding America during that century.
  A few of our colleagues may have been friends with Jack Kennedy; but 
Strom Thurmond is the one who ran against Harry Truman--and came within 
a hair of denying him the White House.
  He is the only sitting Senator today who actually was on a general 
election ballot as a Presidential candidate.
  Strom Thurmond has always been a man of the people.
  In 1954, when the 31-member committee that represented the political 
establishment of South Carolina froze him out of a special election, 
Strom Thurmond did what no one before or since has done--ran and won as 
a write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate.
  Strom Thurmond has always been ahead of his time, with his finger on 
the pulse of history.
  In the middle of the Johnson landslide in 1964, he moved against the 
tide, from the Democrat to the Republican party.
  With the next election, he became only the second elected Republican 
Senator from the deep South since Reconstruction.
  By the time the next two sitting Senators changed party affiliation--
30 years later--a majority of the Senators and Representatives from 
across the Nation--and, for the first time since Reconstruction, a 
majority from the South--were now in Strom Thurmond's adopted party.
  In fact, he is the only Senator to have served as a Democrat in the 
majority and the minority, and as Republican in the majority and the 
minority.
  When we look at the New South today, we see the fruits of the 
``Thurmond Revolution,'' or the ``Thurmond Realignment.'' He showed the 
way.
  The issue on which I've probably worked most closely with Strom has 
been the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
  When you work with him closely on an issue like that, you see how, 
and why, his colleagues revere him.
  I cosponsored the first balanced budget amendment that made it to the 
floor of the U.S. House in 1982. I've been a part of writing every one 
since.
  But Strom cosponsored an earlier version in the 1950's. Once again, 
he was ahead of his time.
  When we finally pass that constitutional amendment, and permanently 
lock in that balanced budget we

[[Page S5305]]

achieve in 2002, it will be the ``Thurmond Amendment.''
  When you ask Strom Thurmond what his secret is for stamina and 
energy, he may say something about diet, working out, swimming, or 
loving the work he does for the people of his State.
  But his secret is, he thinks young--always.
  He probably still considers himself the junior Senator from South 
Carolina--every time he stands with constituents for a picture in front 
of the portrait of John C. Calhoun just outside this Chamber.
  One year, his campaign camper was the ``Strom Trek.'' Another year it 
was the ``Thurmon-ator.''
  And he loves to talk with young people.
  He always has time to talk to the pages and visit with our staffers, 
treating them with respect and warmth, making them feel special.
  He always remembers to ask about our families, and always imparts 
some of that joy of life to those around him.
  Strom Thurmond has a joy of life, a love of people, and a sense of 
duty that give him purpose and energy.
  In a world that we fear is becoming too coarse, he is gracious--and 
reminds us of the way back to civility.
  He is devoted to God and country.
  He is our most senior Senator and the highest-ranking constitutional 
officer of the Senate. Best of all for us, Strom Thurmond is our friend 
and teacher.

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