Knowledge and Power

 LBJ 644, 645

Cultivating the friendship with rich contracter Herman Brown to (at first) secure a federal contract to build a dam near Austin was one of the most important actions that LBJ did.  Brown got richer and began financing LBJ in big and bigger ways.  A second pivotal power move was to get himself associated with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which helped financial Congressional elections.  LBJ used Brown's money (and the money that Brown arranged from his wide network) to support many many Congressmen.  He made sure that the Congressmen knew (through letters and telegrams) that the money came to them from him.

How LBJ (a) cultivated connections and offered money and help, creating a network.

(b) how this gave him knowledge and power

One of the things he does is make lists of individual people who needed money during the 1940 election (so Democrats wouldn't lose the House in a time when Roosevelt and (especially) the Democrats were facing enormous pressured).  (He also activated key friends from the dam building contractor to contribute lots of money.).  These lists took a lot of research about the candidates' chances and positions on key issues that he wanted.  This list-building was key.  He used these lists (districts that have coal mines that produce over 1,000,000 tons of coal per month, etc.) for many other purposes later.

Once he began the correspondence and offered his help, he would ask for election data ("With many of the checks that went out, there went out also a request for a status report, not only on the Congressman's own chances in his district, but on the President's"). (how is FDR likely to do?  How are you likely to do?). Johnson became a nexus for this dispersed information.  The the infancy of the Gallup Poll, this data was key information for the White House.... so he became valuable to White House people.  "Most important," writes Caro, "Johnson could not only get information for the President, he could get it for him fast." He reached out again right before the election to request "real time" information on Election Day.

When Congress returned to session, Johnson was no longer just an irritating (to many) newbie Congressman.  He had connections to party machines in Chicago and New York.  Many senior people knew him and had been helped by him.  According to Caro, "All these things combined to radically alter Johnson's status."  And "His power was simply the power of money." (659)

The book is -- at heart -- about the building of status and power.  And this is a remarkable section of the book.  Having cultivated money backing (from Brown), he used that money (other people's money) to make connections and put others in his debt.  Caro takes care to say that Johnson never had a political philosophy beyond building power.  Lots of his money came from super conservative oil men in Texas who knew that, though they knew he was liberal, Johnson would never allow them to lose some huge financial perks.

Both knoweldge and money produced power