Sinema says she opposes $3.5T price tag for spending bill

[elleng]

14. That was the first image that popped into my head;

I was around, at the time.

*Dirksen had promised Kennedy that he would allow a floor vote on the bill, but when it actually arrived in the Senate, he balked. He wanted changes that would have weakened the public accommodations and fair employment sections. But Johnson refused to compromise.

“Now you know that this bill can’t pass unless you get Ev Dirksen,” Johnson told Sen. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, the bill’s floor leader. “You and I are going to get Ev…You get in there to see Dirksen! You drink with Dirksen! You talk to Dirksen! You listen to Dirksen!”

Humphrey went on Meet the Press, where he praised Dirksen’s statesmanship: “He is a man who thinks of his country before he thinks of his party…and I sincerely believe that when Senator Dirksen has to face the moment of decision where his influence and where his leadership will be required to give us the votes that are necessary to pass this bill, he will not be found wanting.”

Johnson reminded Dirksen that not only did he lead the Party of Lincoln, he represented Lincoln’s home state. Throughout the filibuster, the Capitol was thronged with clergymen, lobbying senators to vote for civil rights. Finally, Dirksen gave in. Johnson allowed him to add a few innocuous amendments, to look as though he’d contributed to the bill. But Dirksen also realized he could not stand in the way of “an idea whose time as come,” as he would tell reporters. As Caro writes:

Dirksen agreed that the time for cloture had arrived. When Johnson telephoned him, the Republican leader said he had told [Georgia Sen. Richard] Russell that morning, “Dick…I think we’ve gone far enough.” He promised to Johnson, “We’ll…see what we can do about procedure to get this thing on the road and buttoned up.”
“You’re worthy of the ‘Land of Lincoln,’” Johnson said. “And the man from Illinois is going to pass the bill, and I’ll see that you get proper attention and credit.”

The cloture motion was approved, 71-29, with 27 of Dirksen’s Republicans voting in favor. It’s been said that the Civil Rights bill completed the work of Abraham Lincoln, but it couldn’t have passed without the support of a Senator from the Land of Lincoln.'

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/how-lbj-twisted-dirksens-arm/1927514/