Bill’s Bungle
By not contesting Texas in the presidential campaign, Bill Clinton did more than throw away votes in 1992. He hurt the prospects of Texas Democrats in 1994 and beyond.
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
By not contesting Texas in the presidential campaign, Bill Clinton did more than throw away votes in 1992. He hurt the prospects of Texas Democrats in 1994 and beyond.
AUSTIN POLITICS ARE the nuttiest in the state. It all stems from an obsession with quality of life, and nothing quite brings out the daffiness like a threat to the city’s beloved Barton Springs. Even as a two-year legal battle continues to rage over development upstream on Barton Creek, a
Being the nation’s most famous interpreter of Texas politics sounds like fun. But for Molly Ivins, success has been no laughing matter.
When you hold public office, the difference between truth and fiction is more than a matter of degrees. Ask Lena Guerrero.
WHEN I WAS A SOPHOMORE AT THE University of Texas in 1977, my grandfather, a prominent Houston attorney, came to Austin to give a lecture to the university’s law students. After his speech, my grandfather told me he wanted to introduce me to someone. He led me toward a large
Hurricane Andrew’s winds had a message for the Texas coast.
Small-town Texas gets a taste of national politics up close.
Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez has spent most of his 76 years swinging wildly at political heavyweights. Now he’s finally landed a punch—on the president of the United States.
IT WAS JUST TEN DAYS after the close of the Republican convention, and here I was at a much smaller gathering of Republicans at Fairview Farms in Plano, just north of Dallas. Proclaimed a “Boot Scootin’ Olde Tyme Political Hoe-Down,” this campaign kickoff was also, of course, a “family event”
AUSTIN POLITICS ARE the nuttiest in the state. It all stems from an obsession with quality of life, and nothing quite brings out the daffiness like a threat to the city’s beloved Barton Springs. Even as a two-year legal battle continues to rage over development upstream on Barton Creek, a
Condo Manager Sharon Butler questions what officials consider affordable.
Republicans stew over Democrats at the GOP convention.
Ross Perot is a candidate for president because a lot of people want him to be. He has acted in a very clever, innovative way to arouse and build that support, but the support truly did arise and grow. That means that Perot’s campaign is a pure expression of democracy.
Can the Aggies turn land in Guam into a record donation?
Texas scientist Arnold Lockshin defected to Russia to find a new life. Has the collapse of communism shattered his dreams?
Is Ann Richards planning a historic move from the statehouse to the White House?
George H. W. Bush's commencement speech at Southern Methodist University was long on rhetoric and short on specifics.
THE PRESIDENT CAN’T RUN THE COUNTRY BY HIMSELF. the people he appoints to key positions can make or break his administration. Here is a possible lineup of Cabinet officials and major appointments. They are able, diverse, and largely nonpolitical. Most of them are people that Perot is known to respect.
THE SHOCK WAVES ARE BEGINNING to be felt from the Texas Water Commission’s decision that the Edwards Aquifer is an underground river—meaning that surface owners can’t use its water without a permit. Another state agency, the Water Development Board, was quick to dust off the old idea of transferring water
Cardiologists Per and Peter Langsjoen sounded a warning.
It’s his race to win—or lose.
The fire of democracy has yet to warm Moscow’s soul.
Maybe not. But then again, the veteran Texas pol has never taken no for an answer.
With the never-ending school finance crisis entering its umpteenth round, Governor Ann Richards and Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock appear to be on a collision course. Richards has decided that the educational problems of public schools should be considered along with their funding problems. Bullock has decided just the opposite. The
Suzanne Coleman reveals the secret of her success: “You have to be a sentimental fool.”
If Congressman Charlie Wilson has his way, the humble wood chip will be the focus of a trade war between East Texas and Japan.
EVEN AS CHARGES FLY OVER the awarding of state lottery contracts, the next battle over gambling is taking shape for the 1993 legislative session. This time the issue will be casinos—on riverboats and on land. Lloyd Criss, a former legislator from La Marque, in Galveston County, who is now the
Hiking in a country setting? Great, but not in my back yard, say rural citizens.
The weird shape of a new Houston congressional district guarantees a power struggle between Hispanic and Anglo politicians.
With bulldozers poised to plow through their family’s historic spread, three San Antonio sisters are waging war against the state department.
The politics of trauma.
Dallas professor Mel Bradford thinks that Abe Lincoln was a scoundrel and that equality is nonsense. I had to find out why.
Bob Lanier’s victory in the Houston mayoral runoff guaranteed that all three of the state’s biggest cities will be led by white male political insiders for the first time since 1971. A year ago all three cities had women mayors. But the elections of Lanier, Steve Bartlett in Dallas, and
If Texas is already overburdened with lawyers, and if, nevertheless, our law schools are still bursting with students, then I have a simple solution. Before submitting an application, all who want to apply to law school must sit down and read every word of the Texas constitution that was passed
Gary Bledsoe, the new head of the Texas NAACP, doesn’t dodge the tough questions.
A critical appraisal of a local phenomenon by the ultimate insider.
What a puff piece! 60 Minutes, which has eviscerated many a victim over the years, gave Ann Richards the royal treatment in its October 27 profile. When interviewer Morley Safer wasn’t rewriting history (blaming Clayton Williams’ rape gaffe for the unraveling of his campaign, when in fact Claytie maintained a
For the Bush administration, Lubbock is still the hub of popular opinion.
A breakdown in state tow truck regulation leaves motorists stranded.
Her critics used to say that Houston’s mayor was a great administrator but a bad politician. Now, on the eve of her toughest race, her critics are saying just the opposite.
Texas politics has seen its share of backroom deals, but for sheer brazenness, it’s hard to top the recent play by nineteen Democratic senators that effectively repealed the brand-new Senate redistricting plan and substituted their own creation—a nifty feat, considering that the Legislature was not in session at the time.
Lyndon Johnson understood all too well the advantages of being Billy Graham’s buddy.
We bring you the heroes and the villains of the Capitol circus. Guess which list had more contenders?
And now, speaking for the poor and downtrodden, Ernie Cortes.
Dallas is a city that has prided itself on having escaped the hostility of the civil rights years—until now.
Under Jim Hightower, the agriculture department was liberal and loose. Under Rick Perry, it will be corporate and crisp.
Since the publication of Paul Pilzer’s book Unlimited Wealth, the Dallas economist’s career-and ego-are on the rise.
Things around the Legislature are looking bleak, but so far, Governor Richards is having the time of her life.
“Guys like me like Iraq,” says Houston oilman Oscar Wyatt. “That’s the way the real world works, baby.”
To reassure a skeptical public, members must pass an ethics reform bill this session. And here’s what it should say.