ustxtxb_obs_1984_01_27_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

_ -.4,11141110-, \\ ammo 4 n fig! 11111111:11Ift i” ti The T,txas Ob:.erser Publislint ,,t Co. Ronnie Dugger, Publisher Incorporating the State Observer and the East Texas Demacr which in turn incorporated the Ausriti Fortim;Adtrcatkb k EDITOR Geoffrey Rips EDITOR AT LARGE Ronnie Dugge CAREY McWILLIAMS FELLOW: Nina ::-X;ALENPAR: Chula Sims WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENTS: Amy Cunningham, Al Watkins SOUTHERN CORRESPONDENT: Bob Sherrill 1,AYOUT AND OF:SIGN: Alicia Daniel EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Frances Barton, Austin; Elroy Bode. Kei. yille; Chandler Davidson. Houston: Bob Eckhardt. WaShing,ton, D.C.; op, Mass.; Lawrence Goodwyn. Durham, N.C. George Hendrick,.U6 Molly It ins. Dallas: Lam L. King, Washington. O.C.; Maury Maveri, r.. San Antonio: Willie Morris, Oxford, Miss.; Kaye Northeott Austin: . 14tif sicy, Texarkana, Tx.: Susan Reid. Austin: A. R. Fred Schmidt, Tehachapi, Cal. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Warren Burnett, Nina Butti;’.1 -& Clifford, John Henry Faulk, Ed Garcia, Bill Helmer. Jack Hopper, Laurence Johdon, Mary Lau. Matt Lyon, Greg Moses, Rick Paul Sweeney. Lawrence Walsh. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Alan Pogue, Russell Lee, Sc Osdol. CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Jeff Danzig,er, Dan Hubig… Kevin Krenek,. Sargent: Gail Woods. A journal of free voices We st ill seine no group or party but Will hew hard to the truth as we find ‘ U and the right as we see it. tit are dedicated to the-ii’hole truth, to human: :: values above all ithereStS, to the ri s ghts Of humankMd as the foundation of democracy; we it ill take orders from none but our ovt71 conscience, and never uhl we overlook or misrepresent the trout 10 serve the interests of the pot,: ,er- jilt Or cater to the ignoble in the human spirit. Writers are responsible for their own vim*. but not for anything they has.e, not themselves written, and in publishing them we do not necessarily imply that we agree with them because this is a journal of free oices. Business Manager Frances Barton Assistant Alicia Daniel Advertising, Special Projects Cliff Olofson Editorial and Business Office 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 The Texas Observer biweekly except for a three-week ,:inierval between issues in January and July \(25 Single copy \(current or 75c prepaid. One year. $20; two years, S38; three years, S56. One year rate for full-time students, S 3. Airmail, foreign. group, and bulk rates on request. Microfilm editions available from University Microfilms Intl., 300 N, Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. Copyright 1984 by Texas Observer Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without permission. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to: 600 West 7th Street, Austin, Texas 78701, JANUARY 27, 1984 itt9 Eo PAGE TWO Lloyd Doggett for U.S. Senate T IS 1984 and time to choose up sides. It is not a difficult choice for us, given the fact that state Senator Lloyd Doggett is in the race, but it is a choice that must be explained, given the proclivity of many progressives to sit on the fence at this juncture or to back another candidate. The Democratic race for the U.S. Senate seat is not a race among a true progressive, a moderate Democrat, and a conservative Democrat, as it has been painted in most 4uarters. It is a race between a progressive, effective legislator and two fundamentally conservative, big-business oriented Democrats. This is also not a contest to determine which Democrat has the best shot at taking the seat in the general election. John Tower is out of the race. Although Tower was beatable, the Republican nominee for his seat will be infinitely more so. There is little question that the Democratic nominee will win this seat and will probably run well ahead of the Democratic presidential nominee throughout the state. So, given the opportunity to return the seat to a Democrat and given the best possible nominee for the Senate since the days of Ralph Yarborough, there is no question but that Lloyd Doggett should be elected to the United States Senate. Lloyd Doggett probably deserves to be included among the handful of Texas senators who have best represented the interests of the people throughout the history of the Texas legislature. lie is not only what the Dallas Times-Herald calls -the “darling of the progressive Texas Observer crowd,” but he has been recognized by the Texas Monthly as one of its ten best, and has won the admiration of Texas Business magazine. \(Their January 1984 issue says of Doggett: “Although a born crusader who strongly believes in government activism, the Austin senator’s personal cool and brilliantly incisive mind have allowed him to avoid both the political irrelevancy and the flash-in-the-pan success that are frequently the lot of crusaders. Rather than being an odd man out in the Senate, Doggett has been remarkably effective on behalf of his causes service of the big-business lobby, as, for instance, Rep. Bill to be an effective legislator on behalf of the poor, minorities, the small business owner, women, consumers, workers, homeowners, and tenants, as Lloyd Doggett has been. To be effective in their behalf often means battling the big-business interests and beating them. And then it’s something else again to be recognized as consistently effective by both the Observer and Texas Business. There is no better debater on the floor of the Texas senate, there is no harder worker, no one more thoroughly prepared, no one more principled, and no one more creative in passing legislation or blocking it. These skills and this experience should translate easily to the floor of the U.S. Senate and should serve Texas well.