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. . . Had I as many souls as there be stars.. . By him be great empiror of the world.. . Faustus, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe , x,;:, A,> t 4`ks’ 43;,:%?:,*4-,,k:, ‘oared ‘\(U c., noes rimer, of Da r of ly o t Chet In answering ambition’s -4, siren song, a gubernatorial candidate loses the seat that might have been his. SERVE A Journal of Free Voices May 16, 1986 One Dollar Kent Hance ‘s Decline and Fall Austin FORMER CONGRESSMAN Bob Krueger may have once owned the Faust Hotel in New Braunfels, but it is Kent Hance who signed the Faustian compact. And on May 3, on the third floor of Austin’s First City Center, the terms of the pact came due, and Kent Hance met his timely political end. There, for four long hours, men and women dressed in red, white, and blue wandered lonely as clouds, sipping the Diet Coke provided by the campaign. Rob Mosbacher appeared and re-appeared like a dark-suited undertaker, consoling supporters and producing pieces of paper on which were scribbled the latest vote totals, meant to inspire optimism. With the television news showing a little over 20 percent of the vote counted and Clements holding something like 64 percent of that vote, Mosbacher produced a scribble showing returns from 28 percent of the precincts with Clements losing three percentage points. “It isn’t over ’til it’s over,” was said more than once in a room that must have been filled with a number of disciples of the teachings of Yogi Berra. Mike Blackwood, a law partner of state Rep. Bob Richardson of Austin, told me that Kent Hance was what the Republican party had been waiting for.. Around 11 p.m., he said, “It’s far from over. Clements is coming down. West Texas isn’t in yet.” While waiting for the end, Hance partisans had written messages to the candidate on butcher paper taped to a wall. “Now we start all over. I’m ready. Carol Hance” read one. “Kent, I am so proud of you and your lovely family. Mother” read another. Then there was: “In faith I believe the evidence of your loyalty will be revealed in the Governor’s Mansion. Your brethren in Christ. Wayne Holliman,” showing Hance did garner some of the fundamentalist vote he was after. Outside, it was the night of the stretch limos, prowling Congress Avenue, pulling up at both the Stephen F. Austin and Driskill hotels, where campaign parties thrown by the Republican party and Mark White shared billing with formal fraternity balls. In the Driskill, in time for the 10 o’clock news, Mark White gave a slightly nervous and perfunctory speech about how he’d gotten twice the votes of Bill Clements in their respective primaries. Linda Gale White led the applause, employing the flat-palmed clapping of a high school cheerleader. At the Stephen F. Austin, a handful of Republicans stood around the bar and the television sets. Clements was in Dallas, and the victory party here was small and restrained. There seemed to be a good many young Republicans one explained