ustxtxb_obs_1964_02_07_50_00014-00000_000.pdf

The Spring Line-Up What happened in the Democrats’ Senate contestnow a non-contest, really was not complicated. One event was central to the rest of it. The President let it be known in no uncertain terms that he was opposed to Sen. Ralph Yarborough getting serious opposition. Cong. Jim Wright, Fort Worth, announced that in the interest of harmony, he would run for re-electionin other words, he wasn’t taking on Yarborough, as reams of speculative stories have said he might. This left Cong. Joe Kilgore, McAllen. Kilgore was feeling liberal pressure against his return to the House in South Texas. He announced he would not run for re-election and made statements indicating he was itching to take on Yarborough. Monday, however, despite all the speculation about him, he, too, said he would not oppose Yarborough. Cov. John Connally and ex-Gor. Allan Shivers were extremely put out by Johnson’s role in this situation. Kilgore and Shivers met with Connally the next to last weekend before the deadline. Johnson and Connally had talk, also. Connally’s delay in filing for re-election until the final day had to do, the Observer understands, with his displeasure about Johnson’s adamant role against Kilgore opposing Ralph Yar 14 The Texas Observer Since 1866 The Place in Austin GOOD FOOD GOOD BEER 1607 San Jacinto GE 7-4171 SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW THE TEXAS OBSERVER 504 West 24th Street Austin 5, , Texas Enclosed is $5.00 for a oneyear subscription to the Observer for: Name Address City, State 0 This is a renewal. 0 This is a new subscription. borougha role that extended to cutting off Kilgore’s sources of campaign funds and to the threat that if Kilgore announced, Johnson would openly support Yarborough. When it eame down to the lick-log Monday midnight, the political power of the President had overwhelmed Connally and Shivers, who said he wouldn’t run, either. Why had Johnson taken so firm a stand? He is shaping his program for an uncontested nomination at the Democratic convention on the premise that since he has been suspect among national liberals, he must prove to them he can be trusted. He could not have afforded any serious suspicion that he was backing Kilgore; his help for Yarborough will be cited nationally as evidence of his effective liberalism. N HIS OFFICE for his announcement for re-election, Sen. Yarborough last Saturday was confident and cheerful. There exuded from himexcept during his brief statement for TV, which he rushed and tripped over somea confidence that may proceed from his being in fact as well as formallythe senior senator from Texas of the party in power in Washington. He recited the passage of his Padre Island national park bill and his leadership in the enactment of educational legislation. He conceded he has been frustrated by not getting his GI Bill of Rights for Cold War veterans passed and pledged to keep trying. He pledged to work to keep Johnson in the White House. He expressed confidence in “a third straight victory at the polls.” He had “nothing to do with the governor’s race” and did not think Don Yarborough’s announcement for governor “has a great deal to do with whether I have an opponent.” Gov. John Connally had “said he wanted” someone to oppose him, Sen. Yarborough, he saidcausing reporters to ask when Connally had said this. “I’ve read so many stories about his desire to find a candidate against me that I assumed that he said it,” Yarborough responded. “I don’t worry about it.” Asked about a rumor he might accept a judgeship, Yarborough said it was almost beyond possibility. He conveyed t h e MARTIN ELFANT Sun Life of Canada 1001 Century Building Houston, Texas CA 4-0686 thought that a senator would move upward by presidential appointment only to the U.S. Supreme Court or the President’s cabinet, and he did not think any Texan would get such an appointment with Johnson being a Texan. Tested to see if he’d speak about Gov. Shivers, he said no, he wouldn’t get into an argument with anyone who was not running against him. He was not like the Mills brothers, W. W. and Anson, whose antisecession views in pro-secession Er Paso caused their lives to be threatened. They issued a challenge that at 1 o’clock Saturday afternoon they’d shoot it out with any secessionist skunk who wanted to fight, Yarborough said. The challenge was pinned to a cottonwood tree with a bowie knife. The town was filled, and they walked down the main street, sort of as in “High Noon,” but no one took them up. “I haven’t issued that kind of challenge,” Yarborough said. As it turned out, he didn’t need to. One possible consequence, distressing to Connally, is an increase of campaign money available to Don Yarborough. Another, encouraging to Republicans, may be increased conservative interest in the GOP primary contest for the Senatorial nomination. There was one other important angle. A published report said “a deal” had been made that if Sen. Yarborough was not opposed by a major candidate, labor would not endorse Don Yarborough against Connally. Asked about this by the Observer, Roy Evans, Texas AFL-CIO secretarytreasurer, said: “We didn’t make any deal, but the chances of that happening would be more likely [if Sen. Yarborough didn’t get a major opponent].We can’t make a deal on what the delegates are going to do.” Delegates to labor’s Texas Committee on Political Education meet in Arlington Feb. 12-13 to make their decisions on candidates. DON YARBOROUGH’S announcement was no surprise, and contained none. He reviewed his support of a twoparty system and said the last legislature was one of the most ineffective in state history, and had inadequate leadership; the campaign should be one of principles, not personalities \(he did not mention ConYarborough about his announcement, and was not running on a team with anyone; he had been encouraged to run by most of the considerable number of people who communicated with him on the subject, and by labor’s rank and file, and he had not heard recently from any labor leaders on the subject; he had made his decision independently, and no pressure had been attempted, or would have been received. “This will be a race between the people of this state on the one hand and the special interests and their paid lobbyists on the other,” he said. “The people are tired of government by lobbyists.” Evidently he decided to wait a while before tieing into specific issues. In 1962, in the first primary, Don Yarborough finished second with 317,986 votes to Connally’s 431,498; in the runoff, Yar