Word: showdown
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Kennedy was quite willing to risk a showdown in calling the Soviet bluff. For unlike the battlegrounds of Korea and Laos-where the problem of supply is simple for the Communists but difficult for the U.S.-the Congo is a Russian strategic nightmare. Gizenga's headquarters in Stanleyville is 3,400 miles from the Russian border, 2,400 miles from supply depots in Sékou Touré's friendly Guinea...
...deadlock to stall any legislation they disliked. By adding two new Democrats and only one Republican, Sam Rayburn expected to tilt the 6-to-6 standoff to an 8-to-7 majority. So much was at issue in the shift that the fortnight before the showdown saw the House's fiercest struggle for votes in many a year, a struggle that ultimately involved personal pressure from the new President of the U.S., broad threats of blacklisting by his Cabinet members, cursing and conniving on both sides...
...Sapio seemed to have that election in his pocket. But when Wagner began to remind reluctant councilmen of the patronage at his command, he had surprisingly little trouble. Wagner's choice, Judge Edward Richard Dudley, onetime Ambassador to Liberia (the U.S.'s first Negro ambassador), won the showdown vote in the council...
...before they can get to the floor (TIME, Jan. 13). By adding new members Mister Sam could gain a working majority on the committee and clear away a formidable congressional roadblock to the Kennedy Administration's legislative programs. But first Rayburn had to leap across the chasm: a showdown floor vote on his proposal. Defeat would gravely weaken his own prestige, strengthen Smith's and make the Rules Committee an even tougher obstacle than before...
Into the Fight. The day before the scheduled showdown, it appeared that the outcome might be decided by a margin of three votes, or even less. "That's too close for comfort," said a Rayburn lieutenant. Mister Sam decided to postpone the floor battle until this week. "The New Frontier," jeered Charlie Halleck, "is having trouble with its first roundup...