ustxtxb_obs_1976_12_10_50_00006-00000_000.pdf

Political Intelligence There he was in Fisher County, whipping the local partisans into a frenzy, then out in El Paso the night before Halloween at a rally of Carter block workers, and down in Corpus Christi just before election day speaking to the drive-in crowd from a flat-bed truck. “It’s time to put the jam on the lower shelf where the people can get to it,” he whooped, and the crowds whooped back. Not only was it Ralph Yarborough back on the stump, but it was vintage Ralph Yarborough. Dolph Briscoe and other conservative Democrats took credit for the Carter win in Texas, but it was Ralph Yarborough who got the Democratic juices flowing in some parts of the state. “He brought about 200 screaming farmers out of their chairs in Fisher County just before the election,” said Carter organizer Ronnie Luna, “and we carried Fisher by about 77 to 23 percent.” Ralph W. Yarborough Beneath the surface harmony of the Carter campaign in Texas, there was pushing and tugging that still has some of the partisans mad. Gov . Briscoe and Comp 6 The Texas Observer troller Bob Bullock just plain teed-off a lot of good Democrats by making unseemly and untimely grabs for campaign contributions. Neither man was up for election, yet both held personal fundraisers less than a month before the November election. In early October, Bullock took off on a one-day fly-around to Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, bagging $113,000. Then, just two weeks before the vote, Briscoe threw a big self-congratulatory bash in Austin that netted him about $300,000. “They didn’t care about anyone but themselves,” steamed one Democrat who not only was trying to raise cash for Carter’s get-out-the-vote effort, but was also seeking money to aid the congressional campaigns of Bob Eckhardt, Bob Gammage, and Jim Mattox. “They [Briscoe and Bullock] took needed money out of our pockets, and they took away the energy of people who should have been working for Carter or other Democrats in tough races,” he said, adding, “these guys are too political not to have known they were taking money from good candidates in the peak period of the campaign. It’s inexcusable.” Meanwhile, over in Carter’s scheduling office, many a nostril flared over the efforts of conservative Democrats to keep progressives off the hustings. An adversary tone was set early on, when Janey Briscoe sweetly told Carter people it wouldn’t do to have vice-presidential nominee Walter Mondale stump Texas. Liberal Democrats considered her warning foolish and offensive. The Minnesotan did visit the state, but liberals felt he could have been used much more extensively, particularly in farm areas. Then Bentsen staffer Judy Powers, brought into the Carter campaign during the last couple of weeks to take over scheduling chores, sparked a fury with a high-handed claim that Ralph Yarborough was unwelcome in El Paso and should not be sent there to speak for Carter. Powers was wrong, for Yarborough went to El Paso, was indeed welcome, and proved to be a major plus for Carter. Powers’ blunder sprang more from misunderstanding than malice, but she miffed plenty of Democrats just the same. Washington bound? The grapevine is humming with word that assorted Texas Democrats have made themselves available for high posts in the Carter administration. Gov . Dolph Briscoe has gushed that he “could fill the whole cabinet with Texans”an offer that must have left them speechless in Plains and Washington. One subject of serious speculation is Land CommissionerBob Armstrong, who is being widely touted here for secretary of interior and is known to be under real consideration by Carter higher-ups. He’s up against some heavy hitters, though, with names like outgoing Rep. Patsy Mink \(Dbeing bandied about in Washington for the interior spot. Nonetheless, Armstrong has been asked to submit a detailed resume with references, and those references are getting calls from Carter talent scouts. Best guess is that he almost certainly will be offered a major position, although not in the cabinet. Agriculture Commissioner John White looks to be a strong contender for Earl Butz’s old post, but Rep. Bob Bergland are considered front-runners. Rep. Barbara Jordan is a live possibility for attorney general or secretary of H.E.W. or something. She is said to have nixed the idea of a court appointment on the basis that she wants a more political role. There is a general feeling that the president-elect simply will have to find a place for Jordan, who is as “right” for Carter as John Connally was for Nixon. Among the lesser lights mentioned is Dr. Ray Marshall, a UT economist and manpower expert, who is the candidate of some area academics for secretary. of labor. This appointment seems less than likely, but with Carter it is best to avoid absolutes when predicting what he might do. In any event, Marshall has served on several Carter task forces and is expected to be offered somethingpossibly membership on the Council of Economic Advisors. It’s downhill from there. Briscoe allowed that he thought Democratic committeeman Jess Hay would make a fine secretary of the