ustxtxb_obs_1968_06_07_50_00006-00000_000.pdf

To illustrate that his appeal was not to labor only, Yarborough said that the “vast majority” of his campaign funds this year have come from businessmen. At a Houston luncheon of 40 businessmen shortly after the May 4 voting, $125,000 was raised for his campaign in 90 minutes. The State AFL-CIO, also after the first primary, sent out a letter to union leaders across the state appealing for more money for the Yarborough campaign; Smith said labor’s goal for the runoff was $600,000. Yarborough’s efforts to blur the state’s traditional casting of Democrats as either liberals or conservatives included his statement that he would not seek repeal of the Texas right-to-work law, long an anathema to organized labor. Texas AFLCIO leaders shrugged this off, saying repeal is not their goal right now anyway, other matters having higher priority, such as improved workman’s compensation and job safety. Repeal of the rightto-work law will be Texas labor’s goal in state labor leader, who evidently thinks the legislature may be more to labor’s liking in 1971 than in 1969. There was some behind the scenes effort by Yarborough people to portray Smith as an arch-conservative or far right-winger. \(Former Gov. Allen Shivers he got much of that vote in the runoff and shared the bulk of it in the first primary with Waggoner Carr. Yarbo rough people made available to the Observer a copy of a letter purportedly written to an Austin man by ex-Gen. Edwin A. Walker, the Dallas right winger, which says: “Get to work for George Wallace, please. That is your most important chore. I supported [John] Trice [in the Republican gubernatorial primary]; and if he lost, I intended to supported [sic] Preston Smith. I am supporting him and hope you will do the same. He is by far the best of all five of the leading Democrat contenders. Let’s get going to help Wallace.” Yarborough laughed off several of Smith’s charges. As for the assertion that “long-haired hippie weirdoes” would be Yarborough appointees Yarborough replied, in Fort Worth, “You can rest assured that I’ll not appoint any of the longhaired types to serve in my administration. The weirdos will be excluded, too, and I’m afraid that must include my opponent.”. In Houston Yarborough said, “People are not reading the funny papers any more for amusement. They’re reading what my opponent says …. And if Preston Smith doesn’t quit saying all those bad things about me I might not invite him to the inaugural ball.” As to the charge that Yarborough is a sunshine politician, returning to this country only to run for office, Yarborough responded by noting that he had travelled abroad on occasions Smith had not mentioned, as a representative of the Jr. Chamber of Commerce and as a Marine Corps officer. “I wonder if members of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars would criticize me because of that trip,” Yarborough asked, referring to his military service. “Someone might ask where was [Smith] at that time and has he worn the uniform of his country for even one day?” As a more subtle means of pointing out Smith’s not having served in the military Yarborough had his chairman of a “Veterans for Yarborough Committee” announce a few days later, “With only one of the two candidates a veteran, we feel we should support the one, Don Yarborough, who knows first hand the problems of an exserviceman ….” By this time Smith had ceased mentioning Yarborough in his speeches. Veteran political writer Jon Ford of the San Antonio Express News, which endorsed Smith, wrote in a news story that “High level supporters reportedly had advised [Smith] to take it easy on Yarborough for awhile. Yarborough had been laughing off the attacks.” In a later Sunday column Ford wrote that Smith’s advisers told their candidate that “most voters who are going to vote know who and what Yarborough is by now. Actually, Smith is only slightly more effective at attack than bathos, and Yarborough was making sport of , the barrage aimed his way.” G.O. Smith and Barnes in Control tor The prospect that Preston Smith and Ben Barnes may lead Texas govern ment yields the possibility that the Capi tol may be a scene of deadlock in the two years ahead unless these two political rivals can somehow achieve some sort of mutual accommodation. In the 1967 legislative session there was no such accord reached, or even sought, when Smith ran the senate as lieutenant governor and Barnes ruled the house as its speaker. The two men are of different temperament, of different generations \(Smith is meteoric rise to power under the aegis of Gov. John Connally, another man Smith does not greatly like. Smith worked his way through the ranks of state government, six years in the house, six in the senate, six as lieutenant governor. Barnes served six years in the house, now will likely become the state’s lieutenant governor, and may well run the state government from its No. 2 position. The Texas Observer V Barnes seems certain to run the leg islature, both houses of it. He will rule the senate and will have no body of opposition there. He and the conservatives and moderates share an ideological base; the growing number of liberals in the senate have achieved an understanding with Barnes, who perceives the growing strength of the Texas left and hopes to accommodate his political future with any leftward shift of state political thought \(something Smith cannot bring himself to do for reasons of temperament and his long tenure as a conservaV Barnes’ influence will remain great in the house; Rep. Gus Mutscher, Brenham, a virtual certainty to become speaker, will inherit most of Barnes’ lieutenants. It is believed that Barnes and Mutscher are close enough politically that Barnes will have Mutscher’s ear. Thus cooperation between the house and senate, something largely absent during 1967, because of the Smith-Barnes rivalry, will likely prevail in 1969. g/ Disharmony appears certain to loom between the legislature and the gov ernor’s office, assuming the Democrats win this fall’s elections. Smith and Barnes probably just won’t be able to work things out and, anyway, Barnes can pretty much have his way in controlling the state government, withholding from Smith those things the governor most wants from the lawmakers unless Smith grants Barnes favors in exchange. V The Republicans’ hopes of upsetting all this and cutting into the Democrats’ control of the Capitol lie in the presidential race. If Hubert Humphrey or President Johnson heads the Democratic ticket the Texas Democratic slate is virtually certain of victory. Texas Republicans’ slim hopes for winning some state offices lie with the chances of Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy heading the Demo ticket this fall. Such an eventuality would push many conservative Texas Democrats into the GOP camp \(as Humphrey’s candidacy might, as well, the Republicans even now actively pointing out HHH’s liberal votDefections to the Texas GOP ticket are likely to be considerable this fall. Liberals have no statewide candidate to