Rayburn refused in the 1950s to sign the Southern Manifesto against school desegregation. He permitted committee chairmen to wield much of the authority in the House. He pushed for completion of the since abandoned U.S. Route 66 from [[Chicago]] to Santa Monica, [[California]], which he called uniting the Frost Belt with the [[Sun Belt]]. He often said that politics should stop at "the water's edge," meaning partisan wrangling should not extend to matters of foreign policy. | Rayburn refused in the 1950s to sign the Southern Manifesto against school desegregation. He permitted committee chairmen to wield much of the authority in the House. He pushed for completion of the since abandoned U.S. Route 66 from [[Chicago]] to Santa Monica, [[California]], which he called uniting the Frost Belt with the [[Sun Belt]]. He often said that politics should stop at "the water's edge," meaning partisan wrangling should not extend to matters of foreign policy. |