From the 1920s through the 1960s or thereabouts, Sam Rayburn was the most important person in the U.S. House of Representatives. He didn’t like many people, and to those he didn’t like, he would scarcely give the time of day. If he argued with someone, it was a sign of his utmost respect for them; if he would let argumentative people pass on front of him, unbothered, it meant they meant nothing to him.
Rayburn remains a legend; one of the House office buildings is named for him. This anecdote, which I hope I’m remembering correctly, comes from the first book of Robert Caro’s biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson, which I am currently reading because it’s pandemic winter time, baby.