The fortunes of political liberalism in Texas (Dallas, Austin: credit, live)

[doctorjef]

My own awareness of political liberalism in Texas dates back to the single term of Senator Ralph Yarborough and the campaign of Sissy Farenthold for the Democratic gubenatorial nomination (back when Texas was still a one-party state so that she would have been elected for all practical purposes if she had won the primary). In actuality I think some strands of political social progressivism can be seen as far back as the term of Miriam "Ma" Ferguson back in the 1920s (she openly opposed the political power of the KKK). I spent my years in Texas very much identified with the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party (although I voted for the Socialist Workers Party candidates who were on the ballot in Texas in 1976). Since I spent most of my adult Texas years in Austin (a total of 22) political progressivism and the Democratic Party were always an actual force locally, in contrast to many other parts of Texas.

So what happened to the Democratic Party in Texas at the state level? Why was Ann Richards the last Democratic governor? She obviously saw the handwriting on the wall since she didn't care to run for re-election. What does - objectively - the future hold for the Democratic Party and for its liberal-progressive-left wing in Texas?

[Heimdall]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

So what happened to the Democratic Party in Texas at the state level? Why was Ann Richards the last Democratic governor?

There were only two Republican governors after her, I think it's a little early to talk about the demise of Texas Democratic party.

[doctorjef]

They've been multi-term incumbents -- look how long Perry has served now. Besides, we now have a purified Democratic Party in Texas that has been purged of its former arch-conservative elements who all stalked off to join the Republicans. The old trogs like Dolph Briscoe and Preston Smith would, if they were alive today, never be Democrats. So we have to talk about the fortunes of a politically moderate-liberal to progressive-left Democratic Party in Texas now.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

......The old trogs like Dolph Briscoe and Preston Smith would, if they were alive today, never be Democrats.

I wonder about that. Preston Smith, probably correct. He would have--like John Connally--gone over to the Republicans.

But Briscoe was a dem until the day he died--sometime in June 2010--and he endorsed democratic candidates, including Ann Richardson, who was as liberal as they come.

She is someone I would have liked to have had lunch with in Austin--she was a groundbreaker and a likeable old gal--but I could never have voted for her. Could not stand her politics!

[doctorjef]

Well, in terms of Briscoe I stand corrected. I find it hard to believe. He never impressed as having much intelligence and I surely don't recall his endorsing Ann Richards. I think he was quite a has-been by then. I'm not completely sure I agree that Ann Richards was as liberal as they come -- she was perhaps as liberal as she dared to be in Texas. Her advocacy of the death penalty wasn't exactly a hallmark of advanced liberals on a national basis. I do think that some promising Dem politicians were hurt by scandals that really didn't amount to much but might have reflected negatively on character. Lena Guerrero was one; Henry Cisneros another.

[Cathy4017]

Yes, Briscoe's political career ended long ago, sometime in the 1980s, when he tried a comeback.

Even at that point, he still ran as a democrat.

[Dallascaper]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

So what happened to the Democratic Party in Texas at the state level? Why was Ann Richards the last Democratic governor? She obviously saw the handwriting on the wall since she didn't care to run for re-election. What does - objectively - the future hold for the Democratic Party and for its liberal-progressive-left wing in Texas?

Apparently, Ann Richards missed the handwriting - she ran for re-election and lost to George W Bush in 1994.

[doctorjef]

I see aspects of my memory for Texas politics are getting poor. What I recall is that Ann Richards just seem to run out of steam. She had run a spirited campaign against her original Republican challenger, Clayton Williams. Maybe what I recall is that her heart just didn't seem to be in it anymore after four years. Which would still suggest to me that she didn't believe she would win. I thought it was a little analogous to Bill Clemmons second term, when he became the invisible absentee governor, holed up in his Dallas mansion most of the time. I forget now what caused him to be rather discredited at the beginning of his second term. He was such a caustic old geezer that it's hard to think he could have won elective office in the first place. But I digress.

[Cathy4017]

Clayton (Claytie) Williams had a mouth on him--and he was/is NOT a politician. Had he known how to play the game, he most likely could have beaten Ann Richards. His stupid rape comment sank him big time, along with a few others here and there.

I understood him pretty well, and ignored the mouth. His politics and what he could have done for Texas were the more important considerations.

I voted for him, even though I had to hold my nose.

Bill Clements was discredited probably because of the oil blowout.

Dang, that has been forever ago.....

[catman]

Yeah, this thread makes me feel even older than I did already. I recall asking my grandfather whether he was going to vote for Farenthold (didn't really expect him to). He said he was going to vote for Briscoe, and upon my asking why, answered because he was a rancher. Well, he owned 1½ million acres of ranchland, but he wasn't a rancher in the old-timy sense that my grandfather thought.

Democrats aren't necessarily 'liberal', especially in state & local government. Ann Richards was liberal compared to her Republican rivals, but in many places other than TX she wouldn't have been so considered. I'll never forget her telling George W that he was "born with a silver foot in his mouth". She was too much!