No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Reagan’s Southern Comfort: The “Boll Weevil” Democrats in the “Reagan Revolution” of 1981
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2020
Abstract:
In 1981, around fifty conservative southern Democrats in the House of Representatives, the so-called Boll Weevils, played a crucial role in the enactment of President Ronald Reagan’s economic agenda. The significance of this episode has thus far been underappreciated. This article illustrates the importance of the Boll Weevils’ support to the early success of Reagan’s presidency, as well its implications for both the South’s political landscape and for the national Republican Party.
Though short-lived, this coalition would prove to be a significant rupture in the Democratic Party’s superiority in the South at the congressional level and highlighted the partisan fragmentation the region was undergoing. As this article will demonstrate, the events of 1981 returned southern conservatism to the center of power in Washington for the first time in over a decade and acted as a catalyst for a number of southern Democratic congressmen to move toward the GOP.
- Type
- Article
- Information
- Copyright
- © Donald Critchlow and Cambridge University Press 2020
References
Notes
1. Katznelson, Ira, Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time (New York, 2013), 161, 192Google Scholar; Zelizer, Julian, The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (New York, 2015), 13–14Google Scholar; Calvin McKenzie, G. and Weisbrot, Robert, The Liberal Hour: Washington and the Politics of Change in the 1960s (New York, 2008), 54–62Google Scholar.
2. Fred Burnes, “GOP Set to Woo Democratic Right to Forge Conservative Majority in House,” Baltimore Sun, 6 January 1981; Zelizer, The Fierce Urgency of Now, 218; Michael Barone, “The New Boll Weevils Hatch into a Potent Political Force,” Los Angeles Times, 30 April 1981; Steven Roberts, “New Conservative Coalition,” New York Times, 7 January 1981.
3. Rae, Nicol, Southern Democrats (New York, 1994Google Scholar).
4. Hedrick Smith, “Republican Moderates Won’t Be Pushovers,” New York Times, 20 September 1981; Kaufman, Burton and Kaufman, Scott, The Presidency of James Earl Carter Jr. (Lawrence, KS, 2009), 122–31Google Scholar; Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, “‘Boll Weevils’ Get Revenge,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8 April 1981; Richard Lyons, “Conservative Democrats Press for Power in House,” New York Times, 21 November 1980.
5. Smith, “Republican Moderates Won’t Be Pushovers”; Margot Hornblower and T. R. Reid, “After Two Decades, the ‘Boll Weevils’ Are Back, Whistling Dixie,” Washington Post, 26 April 1981; Ronald Reagan, “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Program for Economic Recovery,” 18 February 1981, Public Papers of the President: Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, at https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sspeeches; Rae, Southern Democrats, 89.
6. “The New Boll Weevils,” Los Angeles Times; Steven Roberts “The Importance of Being a Boll Weevil,” New York Times, 14 June 1981; congressional voting records, at https://www.govtrack.us.
7. Hedrick Smith, “Southern Democrats Discover New Strength in Union with G.O.P.,” New York Times, 5 May 1981; House, Senate, and Presidential election data, at https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/ and https://uselectionatlas.org.
8. “After Two Decades,” Washington Post; “Southern Democrats,” New York Times; Michael Barone, “The New Boll Weevils Hatch into a Potent Political Force,” Los Angeles Times, 30 April 1981; Reagan, Ronald, The Reagan Diaries Unabridged, vol. 1 (New York, 2009), 21Google Scholar.
9. Henry Eason, “White House Planning Budget Blitz Aimed at Southern Democrats,” Atlanta Constitution, 17 April 1981; Memo from Lee Atwater to Lyn Nofziger, 22 April 1981, Box 2, M. B. Oglesby Files, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
10. “GOP Mounts ‘Southern Blitz’ to Sell Reagan Budget,” Charlotte Observer, 18 April 1981; Lou Cannon, “‘Southern Blitz’ Set for Economic Plan,” Washington Post, 18 April 1981; Reagan, Reagan Diaries, vol. 1, 27–30; Details of House votes on Amendment to H. Con. Res. 115, 7 May 1981, at https://www.govtrack.us.
11. Smith, Hedrick, The Power Game: How Washington Works (London, 1988), 472–77Google Scholar; Monroe Karmin and Christopher Bonner, “Democrats’ ‘Redneck Row’ Getting Some Respect,” Miami Herald, 25 June 1981; Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, “Reagan’s Lobbying Technique,” Lexington Herald, 28 May 1981.
12. “Editorial,” Advocate, 10 May 1981; Jack Germond and Jules Witcover, “Weevil Caucus,” Advocate, 23 June 1981.
13. Joan McKinney, “Breaux and Tauzin Traded Votes for Reagan Aid for Sugar,” Advocate, 28 June 1981; “Max Friedersdorf Oral History,” Presidential Oral Histories, Miller Center, University of Virginia, at https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/.
14. Smith, The Power Game, 478–79; Monroe Karmin, “House Tales Historic Turn to Right,” Miami Herald, 28 June 1981; Ward Sinclair and Peter Behr, “Horse Trading,” Washington Post, 27 June 1981.
15. Stockman, David, The Triumph of Politics (New York, 1985), 222Google Scholar; Jim Wright to Marvin Leath, 26 June 1981, Box 298, Marvin Leath Papers, Poage Legislative Library, Baylor University; Details of House votes on H.R. 3982, 26 June 1981, at https://www.govtrack.us.
16. Stockman, The Triumph of Politics, 181; Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, “The Revolution Rolls On,” Washington Post, 29 June 1981.
17. Peter Grier, “Sweeping New Law Has Something for Everyone,” Christian Science Monitor, 14 August 1981; “The Importance of Being a Boll Weevil,” New York Times; Henry Eason, “Georgia Lawmakers Fight for Little Man,” Atlanta Constitution, 14 June 1981; Henry Eason, “Reagan Urged to Shield Textile Industry,” Atlanta Constitution, 10 December 1981; Steven Roberts, “Three Conservative Democrats Wary on Tax Cut,” New York Times, 17 May 1981.
18. Memo from Max Friedersdorf to James Baker, Ed Meese and Michael Deaver, 19 March 1981, Box 2, M. B. Oglesby Files, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Smith, The Power Game, 480; Memo from David Gergen to President Reagan, Box 1, Presidential Telephone Calls, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Gene Marlowe, “‘Boll Weevil’ Faction Ready to Back Tax Cuts,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 24 May 1981; Monroe Karmin, “Reagan Hints Tax Plan Deal,” Hartford Courant, 6 June 1981.
19. Steven Roberts, “Reagan Displays Skill at Crafting Deals,” New York Times, 30 July 1981; Records of telephone calls to Buddy Roemer, Doug Barnard, and Bill Boner, Box 1, Presidential Telephone Calls, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Wright, Jim, Balance of Power: Presidents and Congress from the Era of McCarthy to the Age of Gingrich (Atlanta, 1996), 367Google Scholar.
20. Record of telephone call to Ronnie Flippo, Box 1, Presidential Telephone Calls, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Remarks by Ed Jenkins, Congressional Record, 29 July 1981, 18054; Remarks by John Breaux, Congressional Record, 29 July 1981, 18236.
21. Remarks by Andy Ireland, Congressional Record, 29 July 1981, 18072–73; Remarks by Buddy Roemer, Congressional Record, 29 July 1981, 18065–66; Memo from Elizabeth Dole to James Baker, 28 July 1981, Box 7, Ed Meese Files, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Details of House votes on Substitute to H.R. 4242, 29 July 1981, at https://www.govtrack.us.
22. Joan McKinney, “Tax-cut Fight More Auction Than Debate,” Advocate, 26 July 1981; Barrett, Laurence L., Gambling with History: Ronald Reagan in the White House (New York, 1983), 166–70Google Scholar; Rowland Evans and Robert Novak, “Reagan Compromise Angers Big Business,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9 June 1981.
23. Bill Nichols to Reverend Walker Bynum, 19 August 1981, Accession 82-003, Box 5, William Nichols Papers, Auburn University Special Collections and Archives, Auburn University; Ed Jenkins to Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert DeArmas, 16 October 1981, Box 36, Constituent Services Series, Ed Jenkins Papers, Richard B. Russell Library, University of Georgia.
24. Art Pine, “‘Boll Weevil’ Power,” Houston Chronicle, 5 July 1981; “Bumper Crop,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 September 1981; Christopher Bonner, “Some Southern Democrats Cool to Reagan’s Message,” Macon Telegraph, 25 September 1981.
25. Henry Eason, “Congress’ ‘Boll Weevils’ May Be Called on the Carpet, But They May Be Dying Out,” Atlanta Constitution, 20 September 1981; Monroe Karmin and Christopher Bonner, “House ‘Boll Weevil’ Democrats Flexing New Muscle,” Macon Telegraph, 21 June 1981; Caroline Atkinson, “The Southern States,” Washington Post, 10 January 1982.
26. “Ronald Reagan from the People’s Perspective: A Gallup Poll Review,” Gallup, 7 June 2004, at https://news.gallup.com; William Cotterell, “Reagan Still Rates in the South,” State, 2 August 1982.
27. Saul Friedman, “Democrats Avoid Fuss by Excluding Boll Weevils,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 June 1982; Jack Smith, “Hance Defends Record of Boll Weevils,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 1982; Records of telephone calls to Doug Barnard and Charles Hatcher, Box 2, Presidential Telephone Calls, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; Bill Niekirk and Dorothy Collin, “House Oks Budget,” Chicago Tribune, 11 June 1982; Jim Luther, “Pressures Build in Tax Battle,” Advocate, 19 August 1982.
28. Details of House votes on H.R. 4961 (TEFRA), 19 August 1982, at https://www.govtrack.us; Christopher Bonner, “Delegation Mostly Opposes Tax Hike,” Macon Telegraph, 19 August 1982; Henry Eason, “‘Reaganomics’ Critic Fowler Supports President’s Tax Hike,” Atlanta Constitution, 19 August 1982; Cragg Hines, “‘Boll Weevils’ Split on Reagan Tax Bill,” Houston Chronicle, 19 August 1982.
29. Maggie Willis, “The 7th District,” Marietta Journal, 31 October 1982; Jay Barrow, “Macon’s Republican Mayor Supports Billy Evans,” Macon Telegraph, 3 September 1982; Dick Pettys, “Career at Stake in Tuesday Vote,” Augusta Chronicle, 19 September 1982; “Evans, Defeated in Runoff, Says He May Try Again,” Augusta Chronicle, 23 September 1982.
30. “Democrats Swell Majority by about Two Dozen Seats,” Columbia Record, 3 November 1982; David Maraniss, “‘Boll Weevil’ Winners Feel Lost,” Washington Post, 21 November 1982; “‘Boll Weevils’ Get Message,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5 January 1983; Smith, The Power Game, 528; Nene Foxhall and Craig Hines, “Unlike Gramm, Second ‘Boll Weevil’ Able to Keep House Assignment,” Houston Chronicle, 5 January 1983.
31. Ehrenhalt, Alan, ed., Politics in America: The 100th Congress (Washington, DC, 1987), 317–18Google Scholar; Senate election data at https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/; William Murchison, “Meet Kent Hance, Republican,” Dallas Morning News, 7 May 1985.
32. Rae, Southern Democrats, 71–72, 90; Roberto Suro, “Louisiana’s Governor Shifts to G.O.P. in Career Gamble,” New York Times, 12 March 1991; Eric Pianin, “GOP Extols Rep. Tauzin’s Party Switch,” Washington Post, 8 August 1995; Christy Hoppe, “Hall on GOP’s Roll Now,” Dallas Morning News, 3 January 2004; “Sonny Montgomery Says Goodbye to Washington,” Commercial Appeal, 29 December 1996; Mike Christensen, “‘No Perks for Switch,’ Deal says,” Atlanta Constitution, 11 April 1995.
33. House election data at https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/.
34. Nicholas Grossman, “The Republican Civil War Is Over: The Populists Won,” Medium, 27 October 2017, at https://arcdigital.media/the-republican-civil-war-is-over-the-populists-won; Chris Cilizza, “The Republican Party Is in the Midst of a Civil War,” CNN Politics, 26 October 2017, available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/26/politics/trump-mcconnell-bannon-war; “Tracking Trump,” Morning Consult, at https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump-2/.