Washington Weekly, Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Another Year, Another Run
As
reported in 2016, Senator Clark Gibson of Idaho has again made his case at the beginning of this year to become President pro tempore and again been shut down by Congress and Congressional leaders. Gibson, an archconservative from Idaho was sworn in on the very same day, the very same second, as Senator Sam Wilkinson, archconservative from Kansas, yet Wilkinson was elected to the traditional post of President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 2017, and reelected twice since (in 2019 and 2021).
Both Gibson and Wilkinson are not particularly well-liked on the Senate floor, with Wilkinson even eschewing Committee positions until relatively recently, despite his high seniority. They have done well in their states, and have been bolstered by friendships with party leaders, but Wilkinson was quoted as being a brash upstart throughout much of the 1980s and early '90s and Gibson notoriously fought against any progressive legislation with filibusters so often that he has received cloture more often than any other Senator in US history.
One might think that Gibson and Wilkinson, hated by the Senate-at-large, might team up and become good friends. They would be wrong. "The enemy of my enemy is still a lying rat bastard," said Clark Gibson to Rolling Stone in 2002, after Sam Wilkinson claimed that they were teaming up to fight against President Bartlet's second term agenda. Gibson backed retaining Jack Moseley of Colorado as Senate Majority Leader, while Wilkinson supported Robert Royce of Pennsylvania to replace him (which ultimately won out when Moseley resigned from the position due to controversy). The minor Moseley-Royce feud reignited bad blood between Gibson and Wilkinson ever since which is why they are rarely seen in the same room, do not speak to each other, and refuse to serve on the same commitees or sub-committees.
But, regardless of all that, what has this to do with the position of President pro tempore? Since 1949, the President pro tempore has always been traditionally elected (by a majority of the Senate) from the most senior member of the majority party. The Democrats, when in power, elected Kenneth McKellar (TN; 1949-1953), Walter F. George (GA; 1955-1957), Carl Hayden (AZ; 1957-1969), Richard Russell (GA; 1969-1981), Patrick Little (DE; 1991-1996), Anthony Gianelli (NY; 1996-1999), and William Wiley (WA; 2015-2017). The Republicans, when in power, elected Styles Bridges (NH; 1953-1955), Milton Young (NC; 1980), Jesse Calhoun (SC; 1981-1989), Bill Glomer (IA; 1989-1991), Joseph Furman (TX; 1999-2009), and Robert Miner (AR; 2009-2015). All powerful men with no conflicts in their seniority.
But with Gibson and Wilkinson, things are a little different. Same day swearing-in. Yet, Senate rules are very specific over who has the higher seniority regarding committee assignments, office space, general order of precedence, and so on. And, currently, that would be Sam Wilkinson, as his state (Kansas) had a higher census population in 1980 than Clark Gibson's state (Idaho), and still does to this day. State populations by Census determines seniority between two same-day Senators with no other qualifying factor (like being a former governor, congressman, or president; none of which apply to Gibson or Wilkinson). But Senate rules on seniority have changed in the past 40 years, and when they were both sworn-in in 1981, it operated on a basis of pure alphabetical nature. G is before W, argues Gibson, and changes to the rules shouldn't apply to them retroactively.
Gibson has made his case on the floor of the Senate, passionately and with vigor. He has more than a few colleagues throw some support to him in the press often over the years. But the floor vote has been nearly unanimous three separate times. Senate Majority Leader Cody Riley (AL) doesn't want a divided caucus, like in the chaotic days of 2003. He pressed hard to maintain the seniority rules in their present state, even retroactively, and most of the Senate agrees with him. Still, thanks to Gibson, the vote for President pro tempore has been a roll call vote for three consecutive Congresses (the first time since 1949), and it's public record that he received only two votes each time: one from himself and one from his Idaho Senate colleague Gina DiMeo.
"One day, that f***** will drop dead with one of his mistresses, and we can revisit this issue," Gibson told a reporter once in what was later claimed to be an off-the-cuff remark. Gibson, who is eight years older than Wilkinson and the second-oldest Senator (behind only William Wiley), may not be around to see that day. Both insist on running in 2022.
Pictured above: Then-Ranking Member Clark Gibson (R-ID) talking at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing with actress Holly Hunter, wife of late UK Labour politician Jonathan Moseley, in 2016. Photo by Patrick Leahy Enterprises.