'TEXAS 13 SERVER October I 1982 A Journal of Free Voices 750 WHITE, CLEMENTS A DIItleS WORTH OF DIFFERENCE? Kevin Kreneck By Joe Holley By Paul Sweeney with the White campaign with the Clements campaign N AN OLD MOVIE poster on N THIS TYPICALLY wind- the wall just above the steam On The Inside blown, sun-drenched Panhandle trays of bubbly Swedish meat- morning, a small caravan of 0 shiny cars and vans waiting outside balls and bacon-wrapped chicken livers, Gene Autry smiled his perpetual ENDORSEMENTS Amarillo's Hilton Inn pulls into line be- singing-cowboy smile. At the other end hind a big, armadillo-crunching Scout of the cramped restaurant banquet room, See Page 2 carrying Gov. Bill Clements and his wife hemmed in by a noisy crowd of well Rita. Next in line in a Mercedes is Mad wishers, the candidate for governor, Eddie Chiles and his wife Fran, a Repub- lican national committee woman. Bring- sweating in the hot glare of television MAVERICK AND THE JEWS lights, smiled his "how are ya, good to ing up the rear is the press corps, riding in Margaret Spearman's station wagon. see ya" candidate's smile and held aloft a See Page 8 store-bought jug of water. On the short drive to West Texas State Gene Autry, of course, swapped the University in Canyon, Ms. Spearman, a smiling business for an even more lucra- Clements campaign volunteer and an tive line of work, but 42-year-old Mark 8th-grade history teacher, chats about (Continued on Page 12) (Continued on Page 15) •THE OBSERVER'S POSITION • HIS YEAR, in an exercise that is and it stands to reason that a straight- lieutenant governor, that the two top unusual in the 27-year history of ticket strategy this year enhances the Democratic nominees must be clearly T the Texas Observer, we urge our chances of these four candidates. preferred. readers to vote the straight Democratic Second, people who are conscientious If Bill Clements is re-elected, he will ticket for statehouse offices, top to bot- about their politics have to consider the not only continue blustering and bullying tom. consequences, in the 1984 presidential his way around the governor's office and We make this recommendation with race, of not voting for the Democratic the legislature. He will not only continue some misgivings, but also quite con- nominee for governor this year. belittling the importance of unemploy- vinced that it makes good sense for prog- Each precinct's delegate strength in ment in Texas. He will not only continue ressive values and purposes in Texas. the 1984 convention series will be deter- sacrificing civil liberties for his bombas- There are three main reasons. mined by how many votes its citizens tic anti-crime campaigns. He will not First, the straight-ticket strategy is the cast this November for the Democratic only cut and slash state programs, maybe best method of helping to insure the elec- nominee for governor. If the prog- try again to gut state government for a tion of the four progressive nominees on ressives skip voting for Atty. Gen. Mark generation with some new form of his the statewide Democratic ticket — Jim White now, they are directly reducing "water trust plan," and fight to raise col- Hightower for agriculture commissioner, the strength of their precincts in choos- lege tuition and enact a new sales tax on Ann Richards for state treasurer, Jim ing the 1984 Democratic presidential highway users. He will also champion Mattox for attorney general, and Garry nominee. That is not a small matter, it is the re-election of Ronald Reagan or Rea- Mauro for land commissioner. a major matter, and the only way it can gan's successor in Reaganism. The gov- be avoided is by refusing to think ahead a ernor's election in November in Texas The Democratic Party has not nomi- year and a half. To give their precincts could decide the presidential election in nated a single clearly progressive candi- full weight in the selection of the Demo- Texas exactly two years later — and that date for statewide office in Texas since cratic nominee for president in 1984, could decide the whole future direction U.S. Senator Ralph Yarborough was re- voters must vote for Mark White this of the country. nominated in 1964, and a progressive has year. not been nominated for a statewide post Although he may, we are not sanguine in the statehouse since before World Third, this is a year in which Repub- that White will win. A White House poll War II. Now, suddenly, we have four licanism nationally means Reaganism. showed him four points ahead, but re- such candidates. This is literally the op- The seated President, who is the most member, Clements has that nine million portunity of a generation. reactionary President since William dollars, and he will use it to drum into the McKinley, has two more years to go, and public mind, as proof of White's incom- The case for the election of each one then either he or some other exponent of petence, the evidence that he has mis- of these four candidates is persuasive, Reaganism will try for another four. It is handled some cases for the state. Can but voters do not really pay much atten- mainly in this dimension, and not in any elections be bought? Unfortunately, they tion to any of the statewide races below close comparison of the Republican and can and they are. In the end, will enough the level of governor or U.S. senator, Democratic candidates for governor and people care to go vote against these Rea- Incorporating the State Observer and the East Texas Democrat, TE-rx0BSERvER which in turn incorporated the Austin Forum-Advocate. The Progressive Biweekly The Progressive Biweekly Vol. 74, No. 19 7 October 1, 1982 We will serve no group or party but will hew hard to the truth as we find it and the right as we see it. We are dedicated to the whole truth, to human Editor and Publisher: Ronnie Dugger values above all interests, to the rights of humankind as the foundation of democracy; we will take orders from none but our own conscience, and never Co-Editor: Joe Holley will we overlook or misrepresent the truth to serve the interests of the powerful or cater to the ignoble in the human spirit. Staff Writer: Ruperto Garcia Writers are responsible for their own work, but not for anything they have not themselves written, and in publishing them we do not necessarily imply that we agree with them because this is a journal of free voices. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Frances Barton, Austin; Elroy Bode, Ei Paso; Chandler Davidson, Houston; Bob Eckhardt, Washington, D.C.; Sissy Farenthold, Houston; Ruperto Garcia, Austin; John Kenneth Galbraith, Cam- 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 477-0746 bridge, Mass.; Lawrence Goodwyn, Durham, N.C.; George Hendrick, Ur- bana, Ill.; Molly Ivins, New York City; Larry L. King, Washington, D.C.; Business Manager: Frances Barton Maury Maverick, Jr., San Antonio; Willie Morris, Oxford, Miss.; Kaye Northcott, Austin; James Presley, Texarkana, Tx.; Susan Reid, Austin; A.R. Advertising, Special Projects: Cliff Olofson (Babe) Schwartz, Galveston; Bob Sherrill, Washington, D.C.; Fred Schmidt, Tehachapi, Ca.; Alfred J. Watkins, Austin. The Texas Observer (ISSN 0040-4519) is published biweekly except for a three-week interval between issues in January and July (25 issues per year) by the Texas Observer Publishing Co., 600 West 7th Street. Austin, Texas 78701, (512) 477-0746. Second class CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Warren Burnett, Nina Butts, Jo Clifton, John postage paid at Austin, Texas. Henry Faulk, Bill Helmer, Jack Hopper, Amy Johnson, Laurence Jolidon, Single copy (current or back issue) 75e prepaid. One year, $20: two years, $38: three Mary Lenz, Matt Lyon, Greg Moses, Janie Paleschic, Laura Richardson, years, $56. One year rate for full-time students, $13. Airmail, foreign, group, and bulk rates M. P. Rosenberg, Bob Sindermann, Jr., Paul Sweeney, Lawrence Walsh. on request. Microfilm editions available from Microfilming Corporation of America, Box CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Alan Pogue, Grant Fehr, Bob 10, Sanford. N.C. 27330. • Clare, Russell Lee, Scott Van Osdol, Ronald Cortes Copyright 1982 by Texas Observer Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Material CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Berke Breathed, Jeff Danziger, Ben Sargent, may not be reproduced without permission. Mary Margaret Wade, Gail Woods POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to: 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. 2 OCTOBER 1, 1982 POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to: 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701. ganists? That depends, as always, on Gov. Hobby gave a reception in his that this year, progressive voters have no people. home in the re-election campaign for serious alternative to the straight-ticket If we had our druthers, the Democrats Cong. Bob Eckhardt of Houston in 1980, Democratic strategy. The election of would have nominated progressives for but we do not recall with any apprecia- Hightower, Mattox, Richards, and governor and lieutenant governor, too — tion at all Hobby's roles in the Killer Mauro (and probably the election of Bul- would have nominated a black and an Bees case and in the redistricting and lock) will do wonders in quickening the Hispanic on the ticket — would not have wiretapping legislation in the last regular interest of White and Hobby in the wel- forced a choice between two moderate session of the legislature. fare of the people. In office, we can conservatives (White and Lt. Gov. Bill We would express, too, our distaste count on the progressive Democrats to Hobby) and two right-wing extremists for the unpleasantness that has become be a powerful force in Texas in 1984, (Clements and George Strake).