Shakeup in the South Carolina Senate.

The new GOP majority in the South Carolina Senate dumped seniority in favor of party rule.

It was an amazing six months. The Confederate flag came down, the Confederate submarine Hunley came up, and the South Carolina Senate turned inside out.

The Senate, unique in that it was the only state legislative body still ruled solely by seniority, dumped its heritage for party politics. The partisan shift started Election Day Nov. 7. When the polls closed, jaws dropped in South Carolina. For the first time in history, the Senate ended up evenly split: 23 Democrats and 23 Republicans. For more than a century, Democrats had held the majority, but now with a Republican lieutenant governor ready to be the tiebreaker, GOP senators knew they had the upper hand. That very night, they started crafting a plan.

Meeting in secret, they began juggling the idea of parity. That discussion quickly turned into a strategy session for a takeover assault. Republicans, armed with the most votes, decided to go for outright control of the Senate, overhaul the rules, eliminate seniority leadership and remove the long-serving president pro tem, Democrat John Drummond.

"It's almost like we're enemies," Drummond said as he lamented the change to party rule. "There's no way in the world it would have happened with me in charge." The World War II prisoner of war prides himself on being a state senator first, and a Democrat second. That outlook didn't spare him the sword when the session opened.

THE GENTLEMAN'S CHAMBER

Senators dressed in seersucker suits and bow ties took pride in their seniority-based system. They addressed one another as "the senator from..." and refused to "draw a sword" against a sitting member. But those "gentleman's rules" as members call them, made some senators wait decades before becoming a committee chairman or getting a front row seat in the chamber.

Still, change wasn't easy--even for the victors. "I think it's a shame," says Charleston Senator Glenn McConnell who prefers the seniority system. McConnell speaks with a distinct Charleston accent and frequently takes part in Civil War re-enactments. He's known for protecting the "institution," which is what he calls the Senate. However, McConnell is the big winner in this turn of events. The Republican senator took over as president pro tem and Judiciary chairman. Democratic leader Senator John Land III also regrets the change. "I think the strength of the Senate has been its seniority system." So why, if members from both parties mourn the change, did it happen anyway?

DRAWING THE SWORD

It began last year when senators broke the gentleman's rule of never "drawing a sword" against a fellow member. Both Democrats and Republicans openly campaigned against some members facing re-election. Ranking Republican Senator Hugh Leatherman Sr. remembers it as a "nasty fight." In fact, even after Leatherman won his race, the Democratic Party filed a lawsuit challenging the results. "The old Senate crashed when the party caucuses got involved in television campaigns and attacks on one another," says McConnell. He blames both sides for failing to "check the growth of the power of the party caucuses." Here Republicans and Democrats disagree. Land calls the campaigns an excuse to "justify their break with tradition."

Land admits the Democratic Party did get involved in a junior senator's race because party members "felt like it was our seat." The seat was in a heavily Democratic area, yet Republicans held on to it. In fact, in the election statewide only one Senate seat shifted parties. That one was enough.

THE TAKEOVER

The legislature convened on Jan. 9. Within minutes of the gavel dropping, senators were voting on a new leader. But Republican Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler's tiebreaker vote was never needed. In the days leading up to the session, Republicans had convinced a ranking Democrat to switch parties. That left the Senate at 24 Republicans and 22 Democrats. Senator Drummond quickly lost his job, and before the vote was even totaled he crossed the Senate floor to congratulate his successor, Senator Glenn McConnell.

"McConnell is more like a son to me," says Drummond. At 53, McConnell is the youngest president pro tem ever to preside over the South Carolina Senate. He might also be one of the most independent minded leaders in the state. McConnell has fought fiercely against both Democrats and Republicans. Now he must bring the two together.

"In rocky waters, I've got to try to smooth them down," says McConnell. The waters are indeed choppy. Republicans ousted the long-serving Senate clerk and changed several key rules. Now, only Republicans chair the Senate's 14 committees. Before, eight Democrats held chairmanships, and Republicans held six. But those Republicans say they were all "minor" committees, and they were overpopulated with GOP members. As the majority, Republican senators say they've balanced each committee better.

Seating in the ornate Senate chamber has also changed. "We sit by party. We vote by party," says Senator Darrell Jackson, a Democrat. On the Senate floor, Republicans sit on one side, Democrats on the other. They used to be co-mingled according to seniority. Senator Drummond, a 34-year veteran of the Senate, notices a difference. "There's just not that camaraderie or working together, it's gone. Period. I don't know whether it will ever come back again." Clearly the switch is a drastic change for these Southern senators who revere tradition, but Lieutenant Governor Peeler says party rule is far from a "revolutionary" idea. Noting that most state legislatures and Congress are organized according to party, Peeler says, "This is nothing more than the modernization of the South Carolina Senate."

GROWING PAINS 

The first real fight in the "new" Senate chamber was over a bill setting up South Carolina's state lottery. Getting it to the floor took longer than some expected. Senators worked three months on the bill, sending it through two committees instead of one. If Democrats had been in control, they say the legislation probably would have surfaced sooner. The lottery was Democratic Governor Jim Hodges' top campaign issue in his 1998 election.

"It's a segregation," says Land. "I have noticed in my 26 years of service very few votes went down party lines until last year and certainly this year." The partisanship has even spurred one senator to pick party over moral conviction at least a few times. "My fellow Democrats told me 'remember what happened in January,'" says Senator Jackson who followed his father into the ministry. After much pressure Jackson voted with his party on a couple of administrative issues, but in the end did vote against the lottery, an initiative he adamantly opposes. Jackson was the only Democrat to do so.

Beyond the lottery bill, senators did not pass any other major bills in the first four months of the session. McConnell blames the slowdown on the switch to party rule. "The old system seemed to smooth that [partisanship] over and keep things moving." It's not only legislation that's suffering growing pains. A Democratic governor's nominee is facing potentially lethal and unprecedented opposition. Unless a Republican breaks ranks, the nominee for Public Service Authority chairman will not be confirmed. "It doesn't look good," says Land. "We're divided by party." They were also divided in 1998. Then Democrats had the most votes, and they torpedoed one of the Republican governor's nominees.

SAW IT COMING

There is "absolutely no question in my mind" that this switch to party rule would have happened says Hugh Leatherman, the new Republican Finance chairman.

For more than 20 years Leatherman has watched the partisanship increase. He believes that if Democrats had maintained their majority, they would have soon dumped the seniority system, too. Democrats disagree saying if that were the case, they could have tossed out seniority any time over the last dozen decades, but did not. It is now crystal clear that through the years the "gentleman's rules" prevailed in the chamber, but behind closed doors, the swords were being sharpened. Now Leatherman says the truth is out. "Republicans understand that if Democrats take the majority the same thing is going to happen to them." Democrats are already plotting.

A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR

Democratic Governor Hodges says he's not surprised Republicans took over. South Carolina is a predominately Republican state. Hodges says in presidential election years, the GOP tends to pick up seats.

Yet, he adds, "it's not like it was a landslide for Republicans." That is true. Republicans gained one seat in the Senate and five in the House, which switched to GOP control in 1994. The big change is that now Hodges faces both a Republican-controlled House and Senate, "it makes it more difficult." Hodges handles the challenge by working closely with a core group of Republican senators. "My hope is those relationships will continue, and we'll be able to accomplish some things," he says.

Republicans confirm they are working with the governor on a number of issues. However, the spirit of cooperation might not be genuine.

The governor possesses a simple yet powerful equalizer, the veto. Unlike a former Republican governor who worked with a Democratic Senate, Governor Hodges has enough votes to sustain a veto. "Which, means that they have to work with me, and I have to work with them to get some things done," Hodges says, smiling. He calls the Senate-passed lottery bill "decent," but wants to reserve final judgment on the new working relationship until the end of the legislative session.

Democratic senators also have their own equalizer, the filibuster. The rules allowing and maintaining a filibuster remain largely intact after the Republican takeover. McConnell says that was to "force the two parties to work together." That's proof, he says, that Republicans were not making the change just to run over Democrats. Senator Land believes the filibuster is "the only thing that keeps the Senate in balance." One senator can block legislation by talking a bill to death, or at least dig in his or her heels until needed changes are made. During the Confederate flag debate last year, it was Republican Senator Glenn McConnell who some say "held the state hostage" during his filibuster. McConnell ended up getting the compromise he wanted.

UP NEXT

Even after the regular session ends this summer, senators know their fiercest fight still lies ahead. Like everywhere else in America, it is time for reapportionment in South Carolina.

In August, lawmakers will reconvene for a special session to redraw congressional and legislative districts. Those lines will help determine who wins seats and ultimately controls the State House for the next decade. Each party will be looking out for its own best interest. Land says Democrats will draw with one thing in mind. "If we get the majority back, we will retaliate." That threat is reason enough for some Republicans to forgo a bipartisan coalition. As it stands now, senators on both sides are predicting a veto by Hodges. Then the courts, not lawmakers, will draw the district lines.

The Republican takeover of the Senate was well planned. While there still might be some smoldering embers, senators believe the smoke will clear and their strife will not leave lasting scars.

Heather Hoope is a news reporter for WIS Television in Columbia, S. C.

MCCONNELL'S MIGHT

As the soundtrack from the movie Gettysburg plays in the background, Republican Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell talks about one of his favorite subjects: The Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley. It was McConnell who spearheaded the monumental $16 million effort to raise the submarine from the ocean floor and properly bury her crew. With that same zeal, McConnell attacks and devours work in the South Carolina Senate. He's there early in the morning and leaves many nights at 11 o'clock. "I see this as a challenge to protect the institution."

McConnell commonly refers to the Senate as "the institution." He is a man passionate about history and tradition. McConnell gave up his law practice to run a Civil War memorabilia store that he owns. And like the South's early leaders, McConnell has a blazing independent streak, fighting friends and foes if they are on the "wrong" side of an issue.

Democratic Governor Jim Hodges recalls a recent letter McConnell sent criticizing a statewide campaign to pull over and ticket drivers who were not wearing their seatbelts.

"I got a strong letter saying, 'If the executive branch wants to make law, that's our job."'

McConnell definitely knows the fine art of lawmaking. As a junior senator, he would listen to cassette tapes on Senate rules as he drove home to Charleston.

That's made him lethal on the Senate floor. McConnell has stalled debates for days with filibusters and technical maneuvers. He even attacked a former Republican governor's plan to restructure state government when he thought it gave the executive branch too much power. McConnell says that landed him Republican opposition in his primary that year, but he doesn't regret one decision.

Democratic minority leader John Land remembers McConnell's fight and says it's the only time he's contributed to a Republican's campaign. As president pro tem and judiciary chairman in this new partisan environment, McConnell holds more power than perhaps any previous senator in South Carolina's history. His peers on both sides of the aisle agree, they can't think of anyone better suited for the dual roles.