ATLANTA - At the height of his power, former House Speaker Tom Murphy, who died last week at age 83, was the epitome of the Democratic machine that had dominated Georgia since Reconstruction.
The longest serving House speaker in the nation, Murphy ruled with an iron fist and arguably wielded more power than the five Democrats who inhabited the governors mansion during his long tenure. His defeat in 2002 signaled the beginning of an exile for Democrats in the state.
And his beloved party has yet to recover. These days, Republicans - some of whom were Demcrats while Murphy ruled the House - have the same tense grip on power in Georgia that Democrats once did.
Democrats were trounced in their first bid to take back the governor's mansion last year and Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss seems poised to coast to re-election next year.
What happened to Murphy's once mighty Georgia Democrats?
One problem is that the base Murphy patched together has splintered.
When Murphy arrived in the House in 1961 the party was fairly monolithic: rural, white and male. But with the demise of Jim Crow laws, more urban, blacks appeared in the state Legislature and their influence began to grow.
Murphy, once a floor leader for the fiery segregationist Gov. Lester Maddox, cobbled together a coalition with black lawmakers. He named some to important committee assignments and backed them in a critical redistricting fight. The alliance would help keep his party in power for decades.
"He was adjusting to the changing times and the changing body politic of the state," said state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, an Atlanta Democrat and civil rights leader. "But I also think in his heart he was genuinely a good man who believed in racial reconciliation."
Brooks credited Murphy with not blocking efforts to remove the Confederate battle symbol from the state flag even though doing so might have helped him in his own west Georgia district.
"He could have killed it but he didn't," Brooks said.
But the alliance was at times an uneasy one. Some rural voters feared their party had grown too liberal and no longer represented their conservative values.
Gov. Sonny Perdue, a one-time Democratic state senator from middle Georgia before he switched parties, summed it up in a 2006 interview with The Associated Press.
"I didn't change - the party changed," Perdue said.
Rural voters, like lifelong Democrats in South Georgia, flocked to the GOP in 2002 as Perdue upset Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes. The same year, Murphy lost his bid for a 22nd term in the House.
Cracks in the Democratic coalition split wide open.
"When Murphy no longer had the gavel it crumbled," said Richard Hyatt, a Columbus, Ga. journalist who wrote a biography of the speaker.
"He was able to ensure loyalty, through fear and money for the district back home, but there was almost a sense of paternal admiration. The members wanted to please him."
Two years later - fueled partly by Democratic defections - the House was in Republican hands.
But one thing seems certain: The more things change the more they stay the same.
Not only does current Republican House Speaker Glenn Richardson hail from the same western corner of the state that Murphy did, the two also have similar temperaments.
Like Murphy, Richardson is known for speaking his mind and exacting revenge on those who are disloyal. And they've both had public battles with other powerful members of their party.
Murphy's feuds with then-Lt. Gov. Zell Miller were legendary.
Once, Miller accused Murphy of burying his bills "in the Murphy mausoleum." Murphy fired back, "I wish I did have a mausoleum. If I did, I guarantee you there'd be another person interred in it."
Richardson hasn't minced words when he feels Perdue has crossed him.
Earlier this year, a furious Richardson accused Perdue of showing his "backside" during a budget fight.
Friday
January 24th, 2025
12:50PM
