Sentence:  There <WSD>were</WSD> two possible methods of breaching the conservative barriers around the Rules Committee : 1 ) to pack it with additional liberals and break the conservative-liberal deadlock , or 2 ) to remove one of the conservatives - namely Mississippi 's 14 - term William Meyers Colmer ( pronounced Calmer ) . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have an existence, be extant