Southern clout in Congress at lowest level in half century

WASHINGTON — When he was in Congress, Rep. Howard "Judge" Smith routinely frustrated the Washington establishment by leaving town when House leaders tried to push bills he did not like through his Rules Committee.

Once in 1957, the Virginia Democrat blocked President Eisenhower's civil rights legislation by saying a barn burned down on his farm and he needed to tend to it.

At the time, Smith's antics were hardly out of place. Colorful Southern politicians wielded near-authoritarian control on Capitol Hill, presiding over committees that wrote tax laws, set federal spending and steered subsidies to cotton and peanut farmers back home.

Now, Dixie's heyday in Congress is over. It is rare to find anyone with a Southern accent in a position of power. After the Democratic victories last November, congressional historians say, the region's clout fell to its lowest level in at least 50 years.