Interview
How an unelected man ruled New York for 30 years
- Robert Caro spent 50 years writing a four-volume biography of Lyndon B. Johnson and 7 years prior writing a biography of Robert Moses.
- The transcript serves as a prelude to an interview with Robert Caro, the results of which are scheduled for release the following day.
- Robert Moses is identified as the "master builder of New York" who remained the state's most powerful figure for over 30 years despite holding no elected office.
- Moses constructed 672 of the 899 miles of highways completed in New York State by 1964.
- Moses' projects, including bridges, highways, parks, and power dams, collectively cost hundreds of billions of dollars in current value.
- Moses drafted legislation that granted him powers legislators did not realize they were conferring.
- The Triborough Bridge Authority Act of 1933 included a Section 9 subsection allowing the authority to issue new bonds for "any other corporate purpose" to refinance old bonds.
- This bond mechanism allowed the Triborough Authority to bypass its 40-year statutory lifespan and perpetual dissolution clause.
- In 1946, the Triborough Authority could borrow $360 million, exceeding the New York City government's legal borrowing limit of $150 million by more than double.
- Moses embedded bond covenants into legislation that invoked the U.S. Constitution's contract clause to prevent future legislatures from revoking his powers.
- These covenants allowed the authority to set tolls and retain surplus revenue indefinitely, as long as bonds remained outstanding.
- Moses retained his chairmanship for 30 years by making removal legally difficult, requiring "stated charges" and a formal hearing.
- At his peak, Moses simultaneously held 12 different government posts, creating a "hydra" that prevented any single executive from firing him.
- Moses could not be removed mid-term for political differences regarding construction, as he maintained no record of personal scandal or misconduct.
- Moses' popularity remained high until the 1970s, with New York high schools voting him the most admired New Yorker in the 1930s and 1940s.
- Moses delivered 1,700 park renovations within his first four months as park commissioner, often completing projects within single election cycles.
- By 1936, New York received one-seventh of the entire nation's federal Depression-era work relief funds due to Moses' superior planning team.
- Moses leveraged his technical monopoly to ensure mayors could only build his projects or nothing at all.
- Moses frequently threatened resignation to force concessions from mayors, including Mayor LaGuardia, who eventually printed pre-signed resignation forms for him.
- Moses maintained control through a media strategy that befriended newspaper owners, specifically the Sulzberger family of The New York Times.
- Moses built a "YIMBY" (Yes In My Backyard) machine by distributing financial benefits to banks, unions, lawyers, and party bosses.
- According to Caro, Moses began as a naive idealist whose accumulation of power eventually became a self-perpetuating drug.
- Lyndon B. Johnson is described by Caro as a ruthless power-seeker with no initial coherent ideology, unlike Moses who sought power for his vision.
- Johnson entered the U.S. Senate knowing Southern Dixiecrats were the most powerful men and initially molded himself to their views.
- Former Senator Herman Talmadge told Caro that as a freshman, Johnson displayed "no sympathy" for Black people and showed no desire to improve their lot.
- Johnson later became the author of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act only after acquiring sufficient power.
- Before becoming majority leader, the Senate Majority Leader role had no formal power other than the right to be recognized first on the floor.
- Johnson became majority leader at age 44, younger than the Senate's average age of 60, largely because others viewed the position as toxic and useless.
- Johnson transformed the majority leader into the second most powerful person in America by controlling favors, threats, and committee assignments.
- Johnson replaced the century-old seniority system for committee seats with a negotiated system controlled by the party steering committee he led.
- Johnson punished dissenters immediately; for example, he stripped Senator S.S. Kefauver of a Foreign Relations Committee seat after Kefauver voted against him.
- Johnson made the "Unanimous Consent Agreement" the standard procedure, allowing him to set the legislative agenda and limit public debate.
- Johnson insisted on securing deals off-stage before bills reached the floor to prevent surprise amendments or last-minute shifts in opinion.
- Johnson centralized information flow, employing staff to track every senator's needs and personal ambitions to facilitate brokerage.
- In 1957, Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act by trading unrelated legislative favors, including a federal dam in Idaho and union jury trial protections.
- Johnson's deal kept the civil rights bill weak enough to avoid a Southern filibuster while securing enough support to pass.
- The transcript concludes that Caro's books provide a compelling narrative of political power that serves as essential context for understanding how power is accumulated and used.