National Affairs: Go West, Lyndon

Like most other Texas Senators before him. Lyndon Baines Johnson for nine years attended the Southern caucus of senators, was the Southerners' strong choice for Democratic floor leader in 1953. But a couple of years ago, other duties began to keep him busy at caucus time, even as the Southerners were meeting in vital civil rights strategy sessions. This year, to their discomfiture, he opened the 86th Congress with a quick drive to weaken the filibuster-fostering Rule 22, followed up a fortnight later with his own civil rights bill.

Last week Johnson formally severed his Southern connections by joining the Western regional...

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