The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 11, 1977 Page: 3 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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The sun never sets on Houston politics
by Jim Beall
Rice seems to attract—or
develop—politicos, and
campus politics often get
heated. Aspiring politicians
should not neglect opportu-
nities available in the Houston
community.
The political season here
never really ends; another
election is always just ahead.
Political campaigns are
always eager for volunteers to
stuff envelopes, knock on
doors, and perform other
glamorous tasks, and students
are quite welcome in
campaigns.
Texas, like the South, has
voted solidly for Democrats
since the Civil War. The
conservative wing has
generally maintained control
of the party organization, and
has won most primary
elections. Despite intra-party
feuds, the Democrats usually
unite by November. The
liberal Democrats' main
strength has been in the urban
areas. In Harris County
(Houston) the liberals have
become the "regulars": the
Harris County Democrats,
started as an insurgent group,
now maintains a permanent
office while the conservatives
meet only sporadically.
The Republican vote did not
become significant in state
elections until the late 1960's.
With the rapid growth of the
cities, and court-ordered re-
apportionment of congress-
ional and legislative districts,
the GOP began winning
elections. John Tower's
victories and the dissatis-
faction with the national
Democrats also helped the
GOP, which ran strong
candidates for governor in
1968 and 1972. Redistricting
gave the Republicans several
strongholds (north Dallas and
northwest Harris County) and
produced one-party races in
most legislative districts,
bitter fights in the primary,
and minimal opposition in the
general election.
There is as much bickering
within the Republican party
as there is in the Democratic.
1976 was a bitter year, and the
feud between the Ford and
Reagan ffetions i8 still not
over. In a conservative party,
in a very conservative state,
the Harris County Repub-
licans are regarded as the
most conservative Repub-
licans in Texas. (The
reputation is more a reflection
of the party leadership than of
the Republicans that are
elected to office.)
City Politics
Because city elctions are
held on a non-partisan basis,
and because of the weak party
structures, campaigns in
Houston are rim on the basis
of appealing to various voter
blocs, with little emphasis on
party identification. Hous-
ton's blacks have developed
an effective political machine
that has been able to turn out
large numbers of Democratic
candidates; the Mexican-
Americans have also devel-
oped effective organizations—
most notably around former
City Controller now INS
commissioner, Leon Castillo.
Traditionally, Houston
politics have been controlled
by the "downtown business
interests"—the banks, law
firms, local petroleum firms,
and other moneyed interests.
The Houston Chronicle (the
only major daily in the city
that endorses candidates) has
served to articulate their
views. Although not as
powerful as a few years ago,
downtown money still carries
a lot of weight in Houston
politics.
Houston city elections are
coming soon, but planning is
also well under way for the
1978 elections. Democrats are
gearing up for bitter fights in
the primary—Attorney
General John Hill is expected
to challenge Gov. Dolph
Briscoe, and the Senate
primary may be so divisive
that beating Tower in the fall
will be impossible. Repub-
licans hope to make advances
in the legislature: in Harris
County three to five districts
will be targeted where
Democrat incumbents are
considered vulnerable. State,,
wide, the party is in decent
shape; if the '76 feuds can be
forgotten, chances of picking
up Congressional seats,
keeping Tower in the Senate,
and perhaps electing state
officials, are good.
Gov. Briscoe will be hard to
defeat next year. Although
he's done little, he is still
popular. With few major
problems, the state has no
desire for an activist governor.
Local Contacts
Harris County Democrats — 3700 Milam 528-2057
Harris County Republicans — 2626 Westheimer"
522-1005
Socialist Workers Party — 3311 Montrose 526-1082
Young Americans for Freedom — 4723 Richmond
621^141
American Nazi Party — 477-6606 (recorded message)
On campus—
Rice Republicans — Hap May, Baker College
Rice Democratic Caucus — Jon Hall, Lovett College
Rice libertarians — Tom Moe, Richardson College
Committee for a Rice Community — Hiram Berry,
Richardson College
The same is probably true of
the Houston mayor's race.
When John Connally
changed from the Democrat to
the Republican party in 1973,
many observers believed that
most conservative Democrats
would follow him. The shift
hasn't occurred, and probably
won't, until the Republican
party on both the state and
national levels shows signs of
good health. Texas politics
will remain colorful, and
politicians will continue to
find reasons to disagree with
each other but always try to
agree with the voters.
D00NESBURY
nephew, can beak pesth
you believe tvtion, duke .
how low i'll the lecture
sink for. a finished ?
lousy grand? ^ /
in a min-
ute- i can't
decide (wat
hallucinogen
to take.,
duke, you're
late, man!
just6rab
anything!
!
J i guess.
i mean
what can
one say to
300 y0un6
republicans?
' ^
1m sure
you'll
think of
something..
but i so
well, you could
stafct by being
on time we bet-
ter 6et going!
umr to
make a
good im-
.1
(s ft/zcn
s0methin6
very special.
what's an extract mads
in them, from the pineal
duke ? 6lands of male
adolescent ^
best
time!
it's go-
ingtobe
a long
evening!
I r
duke, you
sure you
want to be
taking those
just before
your speech?
\ „
seats me!
you cant
even get
arrested wt.
for tt any
wre! ^
whatever.
happened
-to grass?
iguanas.
r
nothing's hap-
pening! NOTHING!
this !s the worst
stuff i've ever
had in my life!
mr.duke?
are you
all right?
/
and now, id0n16ettt..
without fur- wd think
j ther ado, 75 mkx06rams
i tub "gonz" would do the
himself- job!
i AMBASSADOR
i ll kill
him! i'll
kill that
son of a.
ah!
there
WE GO!
uh..mr
duke?..
mr. duke?
poke/
yearlS% w/whafs
mhSUb IE6
j to our mission uppf? i
' in china! ■
' N
as our
top envoy
in peking,
mr. duke
was.. \
hold ttright there.
tueety! i came here
to speak10 people,
not a room full of
savage, winged
uzarbsfcrw -
v&iLAM
good i've got to think
evening, this through! why
fellow re- ami talking to
pubucans! an audtwrkjm
\ full of mutant
" sheep?
i bring you
greetings from
the people's re- what are-
public of china! y0usayin6?!
' these people
„ c? are ufelon6
reactionaries!
winged
uzards?
m duke..
\
oops.. my mistake!
they're sheep, not
lizards. sorry...
they looked like
uzards at first.
my subject for -jq(j twisted
tonight is "our
wend, the am-
phetamine." zy'ils
you umb from
o limb!
carry on!
mr. puke, sheep i can
are you.. handle.
\., \
do$
br.. i mean,
"why can't
johnny
blink?"
too law!
herb they
comb!
in conclusion, a word of cau-
tion 10 all those
youngsters who look. to
j mb as a role model..
^ 7
stay off the hard stuff!
unless you know what you're
doing, it can only come to
grief! there is no room in
tie dru6 culture
for amateurs!
thank you!
WL %!
ii i
bleat!
that was
mp just bleat!
crahness.. \
the rice thresher, august 11,1977—ptge 3
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Parker, Philip. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 11, 1977, newspaper, August 11, 1977; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245339/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.