They call it Dewhurst & Co.

And so far this year, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst likes to tell people, the voting tally in the Texas Senate seems to bear that out: The 31-member body has unanimously approved almost all bills this session, including a state budget and overhauls of Texas' workers compensation and Child Protective Services systems.

"As lieutenant governor, I set a north star, bring in all the senators, we fill in the details, and we march down the road together," Dewhurst said. "Every one of us wants to do what is best for the State of Texas. And our success so far, working together, is just that -- our success."

Cohesive. All for one. Everything but singing "Kumbayah."

That's the outward appearance of the Senate these days, a far cry from an upper chamber that used to pride itself on fiery and feisty disagreements, even an occasional fistfight, as it hammered out new laws.

With many key issues still unresolved six weeks from the end of the legislative session, most of them awaiting action by the Senate, all eyes are increasingly on Dewhurst & Co. What happens in his chamber probably will be a barometer of whether lawmakers will succeed in completing their work -- or fail and have to come back for a special session this summer.

"I think there's a growing sense in both chambers that the Senate will have to suggest a compromise to get some of these big issues out," said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. "That increases the pressure over here."

Dewhurst brushes off suggestions that the Senate -- so far publicly unwilling to compromise with the House on key elements of a proposed tax restructuring and other issues -- could be so firm that it forces lawmakers to come back for a special session. But it was the Senate in January that broadly staked out its plans on several big issues -- and has shown few signs of changing its mind since then, even as House proposals have evolved on some issues.

Asked about the chances of a special session, the 59-year-old former businessman chuckled.

"If the House just does everything we want, I don't think there's much of a chance at all," he said, a grin crossing his face.

Signature Dewhurst: Self-assured. Blunt. A button-down style of intensity that either empowers or irritates.

And this year, signature Senate.

Even so, House members such as Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, suggest that any evidence of Dewhurst & Co.'s growing clout in the closing days of the session remains to be seen.

"Since last session, I haven't seen the Senate prevail over the House very much," Dunnam said. "It seems like the Senate caved on everything. And while me and some of my colleagues wish that wasn't the case, because we felt the Senate's position was better, we wish the Senate would have the backbone to stand up to the House this time."

In 2003, for example, the Senate ultimately followed the House's lead on cutting social service programs and drawing new congressional districts and watched as the House ignored the Senate's school finance proposal and let the issue die.

Hands-on politician

To his critics, Dewhurst lacks instinctive political savvy, he micromanages, he's too focused on unanimity over compromise, he's too unbending, and he's an overly complex leader. To his supporters, he is a skilled tactician, a detail guy who knows how to listen but who is pressing ahead with the plan senators want.

Dewhurst's hands-on style could be seen during work on the Senate's $139 billion version of the budget this spring; he had a reputation for reviewing and suggesting details, down to the decimal point. On issues such as business taxes and workers' compensation, he has summoned both proponents and opponents for meetings to persuade them to support the Senate's plan or to ask them to suggest a better plan.

"I'm not going to play defense," Dewhurst said in an interview, his voice rising slightly as he tried to explain his philosophy of leadership. "I was elected, I believe, to play offense and do what's right for the people of Texas and not sit here and be concerned about 'Well, if I do something, is there somebody someplace who will be unhappy.'

"I'm here . . . to make a difference."

In his two-plus years in office, the man known on the one hand for his starched shirts, dark suits and button-downed demeanor at the Capitol and on the other hand for his weekend cowboy persona has proved anything but timid.

When Gov. Rick Perry and House Speaker Tom Craddick proclaimed during the legislative session two years ago that school finance reform could not be solved immediately, Dewhurst and the Senate plugged ahead, coming up with a plan that the House blew off. When Democrats and Republicans were at each others' throats over redistricting, in three special sessions, Dewhurst tried to come up with a compromise that could win bipartisan support from two-thirds of his chamber -- without success.

"The Senate today is probably as cohesive as I've ever seen it -- much more unified," said Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, who has served in the Senate since 1993. "We've been working through the various issues very methodically. . . . That's (Dewhurst's) style."

Down to business

Methodically and cohesively -- almost too cohesively, others suggest.

"He pushes for that (31-0 vote)," said Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, a 20-year Senate veteran. "He uses the words 'We're a team; we're a family; we're all friends' -- which is nice and idealistic, but it's not realistic. We're going to hit the nitty-gritty real soon."

He and other senators predict that prideful unanimity could soon change, as the end of the legislative session draws near and tempers traditionally tend to flare.

Even so, Barrientos' words about Dewhurst -- "intelligent, competitive, cautiously aggressive" -- mirror those of other Democrats, his most likely critics in the Senate.

"He's not foolish enough to think he can herd this group of dogies and put them all in the corral," Barrientos said.

Whitmire, Texas' longest-serving senator with 22 years' tenure, characterizes Dewhurst's management style as "more CEO, less traditional politician."

"He calls everyone in, delegates things for them to do, rolls up his sleeves and gets actively involved in all the subject matter," Whitmire said, explaining the weekly meetings Dewhurst has with Senate committee chairmen and the weekly meetings he has with the other senators.

Whitmire weighed Dewhurst against a couple of his predecessors: the iron-willed and sharp-tongued Bob Bullock and the less hands-on Bill Hobby.

"He's more like Bullock than Bill Hobby, but Bullock was -- how do we say this? -- direct."

Focus on the Senate

Dewhurst is also known for his affinity for all things cowboy, perhaps an odd twist for a self-described "city kid" who grew up in Houston but always aspired to ride horses. It was not until his early 40s, after he had become a successful Houston businessman, that he acted on that aspiration: going into the horse business on his ranch near Fredericksburg, riding in roping competition and, during the past year, competing in the cutting horse world finals. Like most senators, Dewhurst brushes off suggestions that the looming differences between the House and Senate and the short time for agreements to be hammered out could boil down to a political test of wills with Craddick, who emerged as a regular Dewhurst rival two years ago.

Both Dewhurst and Gov. Rick Perry claim they work well together and have not had any public fallings-out.

"We're very different in a lot of ways," Dewhurst said of Craddick. "But we're a partnership in that none of the legislation I feel so strongly about . . . passes unless the House works with us. . . . We both want to do what's right for the State of Texas."

Even so, Dewhurst quickly added, "Nowhere in there should you read that there's any competition with the House or other elected officials.

"All I have to do is have the Senate focus on doing a good job, and the rest will take care of itself."