Political Payback
A few weeks later, Albert was elected Speaker of the House, while Hale Boggs replaced him as majority leader. Boggs asked the new speaker three times to name Rostenkowski assistant majority leader and three times Albert refused. (Remini 429)
Albert instead picked Rostenkowski’s close friend, Tip O'Neill, to become whip. This allowed O’Neill to leap over Rostenkowski on the leadership ladder, a ladder that led to O'Neill becoming speaker just six years later. "The events of that January shadowed the relationship between O'Neill and Rostenkowski from that point on" said former Representative James Shannon, "Every step of the way, Danny Rostenkowski looked at Tip O'Neill and, while he loved the guy felt, 'Man, that is where I should be'."
Read more about this topic: Dan Rostenkowski
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