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Article published Jun 27, 2003
Politicians remember senator's service

Tony Taylor
Staff Writer

When Strom Thurmond passed away Thursday night, South Carolina lost more than a politician.
The state lost an icon.
Members of the state's congressional delegation said the 100-year-old former senator lived a life that most people simply could not comprehend.
Rep. Jim DeMint, R-Greenville, called Thurmond a political giant who made South Carolina proud.
"He was someone I was proud to know," DeMint said. "He's one of the few people in the world that I was honored to meet. When I think back about all the people I've met, meeting him was more important than some presidents."
Gov. Mark Sanford said in a prepared statement that Thurmond would be remembered as one of the foremost political figures of his time.
"In South Carolina there are leaders and then there was Strom," Sanford said. "There are public servants and then there was Strom. The pages of history this statesman hero has written far exceed the pages that most of us live."
Indeed, Thurmond was elected to the U.S. Senate as a write-in candidate in 1954. He resigned from the Senate in 1956 to fulfill of a campaign promise and was re-elected to the Senate that same year.
He was the originator of the 1956 "Southern Manifesto" against the 1954 Supreme Court desegregation ruling. Thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster in Senate history; he spoke against the 1957 civil rights bill for more than 24 hours.
During his career, Thurmond defined the ability to adapt to a changing political landscape.
He switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party in 1964 and aided Barry Goldwater in his unsuccessful bid for the presidency against Lyndon Johnson. Thurmond was instrumental in the southern strategy that propelled Richard Nixon to the White House in 1968.
Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., who served in the Senate with Thurmond for 36 years, delivered a speech on the Senate floor shortly after Thurmond's death Thursday night.
Hollings spoke of his lengthy history with Thurmond and the respect that existed between them.
"Even though we ended up on other sides of the aisle, there was never any doubt about the interest of South Carolina," Hollings said. "We have all these arguments going on with respect to judges. He and I got together very early. We agreed when his president was in from his particular party, then he had the appointment.
"But we always -- he always -- asked me about it and of course I in turn asked him about it and we checked with each other. And that's the kind of way we worked together over the some 36 years. I can just say a living legend of South Carolina has now been terminated."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Thurmond's handpicked successor, said Thurmond's duty to his country exceeded his public service record.
"Sen. Thurmond served his country in every conceivable way," Graham said in a prepared statement. "As a World War II veteran landing on D-Day under heavy fire, superintendent of education, judge, governor and the longest serving senator in U.S. history.
"The hallmark of Thurmond's life was his willingness to serve, the ability to change and focus on the needs of individuals. There will never be another like him."
Tony Taylor can be reached at 562-7219 or tony.taylor@shj.com