Texas Monthly’S 34 Years of Reviews of the Ten Best and Ten Worst State Legislators

YELLOW DOG JOURNALISM: A Comprehensive Review of the Work and People Behind Texas Monthly’s 34 Years of Reviews of the Ten Best and Ten Worst State Legislators by Gina Parker Ford, J.D. Copies of this report can be obtained at: www.ginaparker.net Thirty-four years ago, Texas Monthly magazine began publishing a bi-annual ―Ten Best and Ten Worst‖ article on Texas State legislators. It has become a much anticipated review by political insiders in Austin and die-hard politicos across the State. The magazine stated in its July 1975 edition the following as the basis for evaluation and judging the performance of Texas legislators: In choosing the best and worst legislators, we avoided any consideration of their political philosophy. The test of a good member—or a bad one—should be the same whether a person is conservative or liberal. A good legislator is intelligent, hard working, well prepared, and accessible to reason; because of these qualities, he is respected by his colleagues and effective in debate. He uses power skillfully but does not abuse it; he is admired, rather than mistrusted, for his strategic ability. As an adversary he is viewed not with fear but with healthy respect. But a comprehensive review of the 34 year history of the ―Ten Best and Ten Worst List‖ shows the lists never really met their own lofty goal. Distinct patterns of bias and prejudice against Hispanics, Conservatives, Republicans, and Women and Black members of the Legislature are easily apparent. Conservatives and Hispanics often dominate the ―Worst List‖ and can be twice as likely to make the ―Ten Worst List‖ as compared to the ―Ten Best.‖ The most likely profile of a candidate for ―Ten Best‖ is white, urban, liberal, male, and Democrat. Even though Texas Monthly has stated consistently over the years that the list is about the legislative process and an understanding of both how the system works and how effectively legislators operate within it, a review of both facts and the commentaries in the 34 write-ups of each list over the years indicates otherwise. An initial example: Paul Burka, 65, the Texas Monthly Senior Editor who has written part of each of the 17 articles beginning with the first in 1973, never once disclosed to readers his association and affiliation with former liberal State Senator A.R. ―Babe‖ Schwartz of Galveston. Burka, also a native of Galveston, was an employee of Schwartz in the Senate in the early 1970s. Schwartz appeared on the ―Ten Best List‖ four consecutive times (1973-79) before being defeated for re-election in 1980. Racial Insensitivity Even more disturbing are the comments made about minority legislators in various articles over the years. The following sampling of comments indicates a pattern that denigrates the intellect and ethics of Hispanic and Black members, accusing them of personal prejudices far beyond those by which Anglo members were accused of. 2 Year Member Texas Monthly Comment 1973 Lindsey Rodriguez ―…actually works at being dumb…‖ ―He wants everyone to be as stupid as he is.‖ 1973 Henry Sanchez ―…he is not smart enough to be a threat to the established Brownsville interests.‖ 1975 G.J. Sutton ―…wears natty brown suits.‖ 1977 Clay Smothers ―…a black Archie Bunker…‖ 1979 Arnold Gonzales ―The Archetypal Legislative Cockroach…‖ ―…best evidence that education doesn‘t equal intelligence.‖ ―Combination of arrogance and stupidity…‖ 1981 Lanell Cofer ―just plain dumb,‖ then referred to her legislative activities as ―monkeyshines.‖ 1981 Sam Hudson Claimed Hudson didn‘t know his floor desk phone was connected to his office for two sessions. 1983 Bob Vale ―…a parasite on the body politic…‖ 1987 Al Price ―A one issue legislator: almost every subject is about race.‖ 1989 Carlos Truan ―A lethal combination of ego and incompetence.‖ 1991 Carlos Truan ―…a self serving time wasting windbag…‖ 1993 Al Edwards ―A habitual bottom feeder‖ 1999 Norma Chavez ―Clueless‖ 2001 Domingo Garcia ―a one man leper colony‖ 2003 Yvonne Davis ―legislative terrorism‖ 2003 Eddie Lucio ―A streetwalker‖ 3 One or two exceptions could be allowed or understood. Perhaps a few more could be attributed to an author‘s need to turn a phrase or catch a reader‘s attention, but when reviewed collectively, the comments show a disturbing pattern of racial ignorance and insensitivity toward the men and women who have overcome racial prejudice, struggled to educate themselves, and literally fought barriers in life that Paul Burka and others writing the articles cannot begin to imagine in order to achieve a place at the table. Burka has placed himself in judgment over these people for three and half decades without the first step toward understanding what it is like to walk in their shoes. For Burka, ―Worst‖ is less about a person‘s background, motives, and desires than it is about satire, and sandbagging. However, the comparisons against white legislators who make the ―Ten Worst List‖ in the same years are striking. In 1973, former Rep. Tim Von Dohlen was placed on the ―Ten Worst List,‖ but his write-up referred to him as ―resourceful, hardworking and….quite intelligent.‖ In 1977, Bob Davis in his trip to ―Ten Worst‖ was labeled ―exceedingly able.‖ In 1991, Ernestine Glossbrenner was described as ―decent and caring.‖ In the collective review of the write-ups, one gets a sense that the magazine is saying, ―it didn‘t have to be this way‖ when writing about white members and ―there is virtually no hope‖ when writing about minority members. The irony of all ironies is that Burka endorsed Kinky Friedman for Governor last year, even though he said he ―didn‘t approve of his (Friedman‘s) racially tinged remarks.‖ A comment like that might not land a person on the ―Worst‖ list, but certainly would earn a snide comment and honorable mention from the dispensor of evaluative justice. Throughout the write-ups, there is an unseemly tone of condemnation, intellectual condescension, and bigotry permeating the collection. A tone of self-righteousness mocks the process and contradicts itself by pointing to the seriousness of the work and at the same time in the inaugural article refers to the legislature as ―the best entertainment Texas has to offer.‖ For the magazine and the authors of the list, the true purpose is entertainment playing on the basest instincts in people to mock those who are in the ―out‖ crowd is a quick way to turn a sale and make a buck. Despite the magazine‘s oft-repeated claim that it is not about political philosophy, statistics and the magazine‘s own words say otherwise. For the first four legislative sessions that the List existed, Texas Monthly labeled Democratic members making either list by political philosophy (Liberal Democrat, Conservative Democrat, or Moderate Democrat). During this period, Liberal Democrats made the ―Ten Best List‖ most frequently, followed by Conservative Democrats, but Conservative Democrats and Republicans outnumbered the Liberals on the ―Ten Worst List‖ by a 3-1 margin. Worse still, during the first ten years of the lists, not a single Hispanic member made the ―Ten Best List,‖ while Hispanics made the ―Ten Worst List‖ four times. Black members fared not much better - they made the ―Best List‖ twice while making the ―Worst List‖ four times. In the two times a Black member made the Best List, it was the same member: Democrat Craig Washington of Houston. 4 In this current decade, Republican and minority members have dominated the ―Ten Worst List‖ while only two Anglo Democrats have been named to that dubious honor. Often Conservative Democrats made the ―Ten Best List,‖ by doing some rather non- conservative things. In 1985, Democrat Jim Rudd was praised for opposing a 2% across the board budget cut proposed by the House Conservative Caucus. Republican Jack Vowell was put on the ―Ten Best‖ in 1987 for opposing cuts to welfare and AFDC spending. In 1981, Senator Ray Farabee was praised for fighting off attacks on welfare and prison appropriations. More recently, Republican Dan Gattis was praised for fighting for an additional $118 million of spending for elderly care; Rep. Fred Hill, a repeat offender on the ―Ten Worst List,‖ was suddenly awarded with the ―Ten Best‖ as the magazine cited his opposition to lowering appraisal caps and implementing spending caps on local government. Social issues fare no better with Texas Monthly writers. In 1993, Rep. Warren Chisum was called ―Pat Buchanan with a smile‖ and was harangued for trying to outlaw sodomy. In 1999, Rep. Norma Chavez was attacked by the magazine for supporting a compromise bill on a State Health department pamphlet on abortion, which listed both the pros and cons of the issue. The magazine suggesting she had let the pro-life movement get its message into government publications. Since 1989, Burka has been joined by former Dallas Times Herald writer Patti Kilday Hart, 52, in compiling the ―Best and Worst List.‖ The magazine‘s editor, Evan Smith, 41, a Long Island, New York native who has lived in Texas since 1992, became involved in the effort presumably since succeeding Gregory Curtis as Editor of the Magazine in 2001. All three can be described as part of the culturally elite ―liberal wine and brie‖ set of Austin. Burka and Hart have been reviewing potential names for both lists since April of this year with Smith according to Burka‘s post in the Burka Blog; the list is clearly a major undertaking by the magazine. And despite their claims to the magazine‘s non-political bias, all three are Democrats by their own words, deeds, or familial ties. Hart and Smith have voted in the Democratic Primary in Travis County - with Hart voting in seven of the last nine Democratic primaries.

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