WASHINGTON — When Rep. John D. Dingell was new to Congress, Buddy Holly ruled the charts, Rosa Parks refused to budge from her seat on a segregated bus and Dwight D. Eisenhower occupied the White House.
And on Capitol Hill, congressional committee chairmen ruled like feudal lords over federal policy, pursuing pet causes and waging vendettas with near impunity.
In time, Dingell became one of the most fearsome.
Now Dingell, the longest-serving member of the House, and other veteran Democrats are poised to take charge of the most powerful committees when Congress convenes in January.
In the four decades that Democrats were the dominant party, chairmen's foibles, however egregious, did not threaten the party's grip on power. But with narrower margins of control and an electorate willing to switch allegiances, there is no such assumption these days.
The question now is whether the "old bulls" like Dingell know it, and if they know it, whether they can adjust.
"This majority is not the kind of majority that we used to have, and it remains to be seen whether they understand that," said one senior Democratic staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Building an empire
For 14 years, Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, presided over the Energy and Commerce Committee. Under his forceful and often uncompromising leadership, the panel expanded into an empire that famously claimed jurisdiction over "everything that moves, burns or is sold" in the United States.
It was in part because of the reputation of longtime chairmen like Dingell that former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who led the Republican insurgency that took control of Congress in 1995, imposed term limits for committee chairs, restricting them to three consecutive two-year terms.
But the Democrats have kept the tradition of assigning committee chairmanships by seniority. And that will elevate some of the most veteran -- and oldest -- members of Congress to committee leadership posts.
All but one of the new Senate chairmen are at least 60, and three are in their 80s. Three also have served for more than four decades.
The oldest is Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who is 89 and is about to retake the helm of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He sometimes tires, aides say, but he still has full command of his senses and the respect of his peers.
