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How Ann Richards Became A Democrat Governor of Texas. Lessons For Today [1]
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Date: 2023-08-22
Going into her 1990 campaign for Governor, Ann Richards had gained national notoriety for a speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention where she lampooned Republican nominee George Bush. In her thickest Texas drawl she said, "poooor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." The line was a hit.
In 1990 Democrat Ann Richards defeated Republican millionaire Clayton Williams to become Governor of Texas. I’d say it was an upset, and in some sense it was. At the start of the campaign Williams was a prohibitive favorite, having easily won the Republican primary, while Richards stumbled badly bruised out of her own hard fought primary.
Williams enjoyed a comfortable lead. Then came a series of gaffes. He refused to shake her hand after a debate, something that seemed, in a more genteel Texas of the time, as ungentlemanly. Then there was his frank admission that as a student at Texas A&M he frequented the brothel in La Grange Texas known as “The Chicken Ranch” (later memorialized in the play and the movie “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, the movie starred Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds).
But the thing that really got him, is the subject of my missive today. Being a “good ole boy” Williams decided to do a “good ole boy” thing. The multimillionaire invited members of the Texas press out to his sprawling cattle ranch for some good ole boy horseback riding.
Alas, the weather did not cooperate, it turned out to be a rainy day, that (combined with Williams’ good ole boy flippant mouth) proved to be his undoing. As he and the press corps set out in the miserable rain Williams said the words that would be his undoing. He equated the rain to . . . wait for it . . . rape.
Comparing the rain to rape, Williams, in good ole boy fashion, joked that “if it’s inevitable just relax and enjoy it.” Yep, that really happened. In the press storm that followed, Williams proceeded to then double down on it declaring:
''That's not a Republican women's club that we were having this morning. It's a working cow camp, a tough world where you can get kicked in the testicles if you're not careful.''
And that folks is how a democratic woman actually became Governor of Texas in 1990. It was a fluke. She was decisively defeated by George W. Bush in 1994 who, believe it or not, managed to avoid any stupid gaffes.
I write about this mostly to comment how irrelevant that which cost Williams this election in Texas in 1990 would be today. In 2016 a tape came out where the Republican Presidential candidate bragged about him personally being able to grab women “by the pussy” with without asking. He won the Presidency.
As we approach the 2024 election, that same man has been found by a jury to have raped a woman, by grabbing her by the pussy (just like he said he did on tape), without asking. This has not moved the needle at all. That man, found by a jury to be a rapist, remains the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination.
Something far less was once so scandalous it caused a Republican who should have won to lose. Now far worse, a jury finding a candidate raped a woman, is shrugged off by his supporters.
Our nation is sick, and that sickness is MAGA.
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https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/22/2188976/-How-Ann-Richards-Became-A-Democrat-Governor-of-Texas-Lessons-For-Today
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