The Reign of Wayne

Rather proudly, Oregon Democrat Wayne Morse notes that during four terms in the Senate "I have violated all the political rules." And then some. He has switched parties in midcareer, practically accused Lyndon Johnson of murder for sending American boys to die in Viet Nam, infuriated his own state party by endorsing the 1966 Republican senatorial candidate. For all his contrary ways, he has always been invincible on election day. Yet, if polls are even an approximate indication of voter sentiment, Morse, 67, may now be vincible. Last week, home for the holidays, the Senate's rule breaker went about mending some fences in an effort to stop an upstart challenger who has steadily led in polls and straw votes. The challenger is not a Republican, but former Democratic Representative Robert Duncan -- the same man Morse spurned when Duncan ran for the Senate against Republican Mark Hatfield in 1966. Since his defeat (by 24,000 out of 685,000 votes), Duncan, a gregarious Portland lawyer, has never stopped running, pausing last month only long enough to celebrate his 47th birthday and to announce that he will oppose Morse in the May primary.

Opportunity to Choose. A major issue will be Viet Nam, and probably nowhere in the nation will voters have a better opportunity to choose between senatorial candidates so split on the war. Though uneasy about some aspects of it, Duncan generally supports the war. On the other hand, no one else in Congress--not even Arkansas' J. William Fulbright--has been so consistently and vociferously opposed as Wayne Morse, who calls U.S. policy "immoral and illegal." Morse is one of only two Senators--with Alaska Democrat Ernest Gruening--who voted against the Tonkin Gulf Resolution of 1964, one of only three who voted last year against defense appropriations. Challenging anyone else with such a record, Duncan might expect at least covert help from the White House. As it happens, Wayne Morse and Lyndon Johnson are the closest of friends.

"Bill Fulbright," says one Republican, "can call the President a name and they are bitter enemies. Wayne Morse can call the President a worse name and they are still friends. The difference is that Wayne smiles when he says it." Not always, but Morse almost invariably balances his invective a few days later with an effusive endorsement of the President. Despite their differences on Viet Nam, the two men are in near-perfect accord on many domestic issues, particularly labor and education. "The President understands that he can't have Wayne on the war," notes one Senator, "but he can have him on other matters. And he needs him."

Secret Admirers. Morse's skill as a parliamentarian has helped save many Administration bills, and last month it helped the Democratic majority push through the biggest school-aid-authori-zation bill in history. By the time he takes the floor with a bill, Morse, No. 2 Democrat on the Labor and Public Welfare Committee, knows not only every detail in the bill but also who will oppose it--and just when he must compromise. He is consulted by the President on every important labor dispute. But primarily because of his Viet Nam policy, Morse's longtime supporter, Oregon's A.F.L.-C.I.O. voted 269 to 101 at its convention to support Duncan.

In 23 years, Morse has become a fixture in Oregon and the Senate. "I think I hate the s.o.b.," says a colleague. "But if he doesn't come back, the Senate won't seem like the same place." Tradition may be preserved because, polls be damned, Oregon politicos are not inclined to count Maverick Morse out yet. There is a common saying in the state that it is impossible to find anybody who has ever voted for Morse--except in the balloting booth.

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