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Politics & Policy

Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
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Politics & Policy|
September 30, 1992

The Intimate GOP

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”

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Politics & Policy|
August 31, 1992

Copper Plea

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

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Politics & Policy|
July 31, 1992

Threat or Menace?

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.

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Politics & Policy|
May 31, 1992

Henry, Hillary, Colin, and Mort

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.

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Politics & Policy|
May 31, 1992

Westward H2O

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

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Politics & Policy|
April 1, 1992

Split Personalities

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

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Politics & Policy|
March 1, 1992

Floating Crap Game

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

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Politics & Policy|
February 1, 1992

Male Delivery

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

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Politics & Policy|
February 1, 1992

A New Foundation

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

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Politics & Policy|
December 1, 1991

Uncandid Camera

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

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Politics & Policy|
November 1, 1991

Dirty Deal

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.

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