If anyone remembers Senator Roman Lee Hruska (1904-1999), it is probably for an unflattering argument he made for Supreme Court nominee G. Harrold Carswell in 1970. Leading the advocacy for Carswell in the Senate, he held that he was being opposed for being a Southerner and went on to say, “Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they? We can’t have all Brandeises and Frankfurters and Cardozos” (Pearson). This was lampooned and there were even questions about whether there was an anti-Semitic tinge to it as all the justices he mentioned were Jewish. Hruska would not be the only senator to make an unfortunate argument for the allegedly mediocre Carswell, but his words stuck the most, both to Carswell and himself. This is unfortunate, as Hruska was a productive and accomplished legislator.
The 1952 Election: Congress
Hruska’s ascension to the national political scene coincided with Dwight Eisenhower’s, with him representing the 2nd district of Nebraska. However, he wouldn’t be there for long; in 1954, Senator Hugh Butler died of a stroke less than three months after Nebraska’s other senator, Dwight Griswold, had died of a heart attack. Although Samuel Reynolds was appointed to fill the Butler vacancy that year, he was merely a placeholder and it was Hruska who ran to complete the term. He was seated just in time to vote on Joseph McCarthy’s censure, which he voted against. Contrary to what Voteview and Govtrack report due to a data error, it was his colleague, placeholder Hazel Abel, who voted to censure McCarthy (UPI).
Hruska in the Senate
Hruska quickly established himself as a staunch conservative, but also a productive legislator and this got the positive attention of Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.). Hruska would become his best friend in the Senate and the main conservative he would turn to for advice and assistance in passing and opposing legislation. It also helped Hruska that he was a highly effective speaker and campaigner. He was even at one point considered as a possible leading public face for a conservative resurgence in the late 1950s, but Barry Goldwater was chosen by leading conservatives for this role as he was thought to be more telegenic (Hagel).
In 1957, he voted against the striking of 14th Amendment implementation from the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the jury trial amendment. Although Hruska was often opposed to Democratic proposals on foreign policy including repeatedly voting against foreign aid, Dirksen got him to vote for the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963.
In 1964, he served as one of the floor managers for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although he voted to strike Title VII (employment discrimination) from the legislation, Hruska voted to keep Title II (public accommodations) and he voted to end debate. His, along with Norris Cotton’s (R-N.H.) and Karl Mundt’s (R-S.D.) votes were won by an agreement that some Republican amendments would get a vote. The votes were held and rejected and Hruska voted for the bill.
In 1965, Hruska sponsored the constitutional amendment providing for a constitutional procedure for succession to the president. He also co-sponsored the Constitutional amendment giving citizens the vote at 18, and was a driving force behind legislation giving D.C. a delegate in Congress and establishing a federal criminal code. Hruska stood as a foe of what he regarded as excessive violence and pornography in media, and sponsored legislation to limit them (Honan).
When Everett Dirksen was elected minority leader in 1959, one of the key senators he turned to was Hruska. He helped get some conservatives on board with the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which Dirksen was pushing for. When Thomas Kuchel lost renomination in 1968, Dirksen wanted Hruska to be his whip, but Republican senators voted for the moderate Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania instead. An unhappy Dirksen sidelined Scott as much as he could, but Dirksen died on September 7, 1969 of complications from lung cancer. Hruska became a candidate for minority leader, but dropped out to unify the conservative vote behind Dirksen’s son-in-law Howard Baker Jr. of Tennessee, who had won the support of Barry Goldwater of Arizona. However, Scott won the post with moderate conservative Robert P. Griffin of Michigan getting the whip post.
Hruska was, although to the right of Nixon, a loyal supporter of him and supported President Ford’s pardon of him, thinking it necessary for the nation to move on. In 1976, now a man of 72, he decided to retire from the Senate. Hruska’s record and reputation were staunchly conservative, averaging an adjusted (unopinionated absences don’t count against) 5% ADA score. Hruska also scored a 96% on the MC-Index. After the Senate, he practiced law, never fully retiring.
Hruska lived long enough to see Republicans gain the majority in Congress in 1994. He reflected that his favorite president to serve under was Nixon, stating, “I think he had a better understanding of domestic and foreign affairs than any other president when he entered the office” and credited him with transferring significant powers from the federal government to the states (Horning). Hruska died from complications of a fall on April 25, 1999 at the ripe old age of 94.
P.S.: Update on the MC-Index
I have altered the MC-Index slightly, now if there is a tie among the top ideologically extreme legislators per DW-Nominate on one pole, it will be the next one who decides the direction rather than the vote being excluded.
References
Censured McCarthy plans new investigation. (1954, December 2). UPI.
Retrieved from
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1954/12/02/Censured-McCarthy-plans-new-investigation/4424680116219/
Dirksen’s Death Prompts Leadership Race. U.S. Senate.
Retrieved from
Honan, W.H. (1999, April 27). Roman L. Hruska Dies at 94; Leading Senate Conservative. The New York Times.
Retrieved from
Horning, J. (1994, December 11). Former Republican lawmaker, 90, looks forward to GOP’s return. Tampa Bay Times.
Retrieved from
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1994/12/11/former-republican-lawmaker-90-looks-forward-to-gop-s-return/
Pearson, R. (1999, April 27). Sen. Roman Hruska Dies at 94. The Washington Post.
Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/04/27/sen-roman-hruska-dies-at-94/633188ba-989e-4236-ae21-d3c6517749b3/
The Senate: Showdown for Ev’s Chair (1969, September 26). Time Magazine.
Retrieved from
https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,844912,00.html
The Supreme Court: A Seat for Mediocrity? (1970, March 30). Time Magazine.
Retrieved from
https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,942208,00.html
Thone, C. (1999, April 26). Tribute to U.S. Senator Roman L. Hruska. Congressional Record, 10674-10676.
Retrieved from
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRECB-1999-pt8/html/CRECB-1999-pt8-Pg10674-4.htm
Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History 