Joe Biden and the Dixiecrats Who Helped His Career
Long-time cotton planter James O. Eastland puffed on a bulging cigar in the U.S. Senate dining hall in Washington, D.C., during dinner one evening, or as the balding 73-year-old senator called it, "sup'uh." In a few short months, the powerful Mississippi Democrat would retire, closing the book on a political career that he began and grew by using overtly racist appeals and outspoken opposition to civil rights.
On that evening in 1978, though, the powerful Dixiecrat would once again offer counsel to one of his favorite young mentees. Soon after 35-year-old Delaware freshman Sen. Joseph Biden joined him, Eastland sensed something was amiss.
"Son, what's the matt'uh?" Eastland asked a visibly dejected Biden.
Biden, a member of the prestigious Senate Judiciary Committee that Eastland chaired, explained that he faced tough re-election odds in November, and feared he might lose his seat.
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