Posted on 03/13/2002 4:55:55 AM PST by aomagrat
U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond is increasingly frail and now relies on a wheelchair to get around.
"The senator has a bad hip and uses a wheelchair on the advice of his doctors," said spokeswoman Rebecca Fleming.
Several longtime associates who asked not to be named said the 99-year-old Republican's condition has worsened. Some noted a marked decrease in his mobility and activity.
Thurmond uses the wheelchair on the Senate floor for votes and roll calls and to go to committee meetings.
Several South Carolinians who were in Washington for the annual National League of Cities conference dropped by the senator's office Monday to pay their respects. Many said Thurmond appeared weak physically but sharp mentally.
"We were delighted to see Senator Thurmond," said Howard Duvall, president of the S.C. Municipal Association. "He stood up when we walked in, but remained seated at his desk. He warmly received our group. All wanted to have their pictures taken with the senator and he agreed. But he was extremely frail."
"He's not the same Strom Thurmond we've seen before," said Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride. "He still has a good handshake and is a character. But he's not real strong. He was there. But you can tell that things are starting to catch up with him."
Washington defense industry lobbyist Ted Kinghorn, who sees the senator on a regular basis at the Capitol, said Thurmond is much more frail and is not as active as he was just six months ago. "But what do you expect? He's 99," Kinghorn said.
In October, Thurmond collapsed in the U.S. Senate chamber. In November, he moved from his Alexandria, Va., home to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he is living. He no longer grants interviews and is shielded from the media by his staff.
Thurmond is the oldest and longest-serving senator in U.S. history and will turn 100 in December. His term expires in January and he is not running for re-election.
Republican U.S. Rep. Lindsey Graham and Democrat Alex Sanders, former College of Charleston president, are vying for his seat.
Reports that Thurmond is not doing well have sparked speculation the senator might step down before his term expires in January. But Tuesday, he quickly spiked those reports.
"Under no circumstances will I step down from office," he said in a prepared statement. "I was elected to serve the people of South Carolina and, God willing, I have every intention of finishing my term."
Speculation surfaced last year that Thurmond might step down and let his estranged wife finish his term. Thurmond also knocked down those reports Tuesday.
"Nothing has changed since that time," he said. "I look forward to finishing the job that the people of this fine state elected me to do."
Nancy Thurmond, who has moved to Thomasville, Ga., couldn't be reached for comment. The couple separated in 1991 but have not divorced.
Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges has made it clear he would appoint someone of his own party to fill the Senate seat should Thurmond resign or be unable to finish his term.
On Tuesday, Hodges declined to speculate about a Thurmond replacement.
"The governor fully anticipates Senator Thurmond completing his term, and he believes all of the discussions about a replacement are inappropriate and an insult to the senator and his family," said spokesman Jay Reiff.
During the 1998 election campaign, Hodges promised to name a caretaker, someone who would not run again should Thurmond call it quits or not be able to finish his term. Thurmond has held the seat for 48 years.
One is confined to a bed not a wheelchair. Too many people in this nation have a wrong view of a wheelchair. It is not a confinement for the disabled but instead it is freedom and a bit of independence. It is their mobility. Only in a leftist rag like The State who in trying to sensationalize an old man's declining health can a source of mobility for millions be considered confining.
Based on what, newbie?
No, that would be Thomas Dodd.
"Rather I should die a thousand times and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds!"
- Democratic “Conscience of the Senate” Robert C. Byrd, regarding the racial intergration of the army.
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