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Opinion

How George H.W. Bush turned Texas red

Bush provided Texans with a qualified, viable choice and thereby build the party, encouraging other young Republicans to take a leap of faith and get on the ballot.

George H.W. Bush leaves many legacies. Enduring ones for me are his contributions as a Texas political pioneer and a family role model, resulting in two governors and another president, and as a role model for the conduct of a political leader.

When Bush moved to West Texas in mid-20th century, the state was decidedly Democratic. Bush campaigned for Eisenhower in 1956 when Ike carried the state, but a lone Texas Republican was elected to Congress. Only one Republican was elected to the state Legislature in the 1950s. Bush was a precinct chairman in Midland. Then he moved to Houston, where he worked in 1961 to elect the first Republican statewide since Reconstruction, U.S. Sen. John Tower, and became Harris County Republican chairman.

Today, Republicans dominate statewide offices, the congressional delegation and the Texas Legislature. But when Bush sought a U.S. Senate seat in 1964, few Republicans ran and fewer were elected. He lost the 1964 Senate election in the LBJ landslide. Two years later he won a Houston seat in Congress. Bad luck prevailed in a second Senate run in 1970 when the more conservative Democrat Lloyd Bentsen knocked off populist liberal Ralph Yarborough in the primary, muting what would have been stark differences between Bush and the sitting Democrat.

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Bush's contribution in those years was to provide Texans with a qualified, viable choice and thereby build the party, encouraging other young Republicans to take a leap of faith and get on the ballot. Republican women organized under the banner of the "Bush Belles," campaigning across the state wearing their trademark red-white-and blue scarves and providing the volunteer backbone for the fledgling GOP.

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Bush's bio from there is well known, as he filled various political chairs leading to vice president with Ronald Reagan and president. Texas cemented its Republican transition in the Reagan 1980s and Bush's political life impacted history.

Had it not been for George H.W. and his re-election loss in 1992, Texas might not have had a Governor Bush and the nation might not then have had the second President Bush. George W., the 43rd president, recognized as much in his book, "41: A Portrait of My Father," writing that his father's defeat in 1992 "opened up possibilities for others, including [brother] Jeb and me."

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He writes that had his father been re-elected in 1992, he would not have run for governor in 1994 against popular incumbent Ann Richards because he would have been distracted by questions about his father's policies. He won, launching a succession of Texas GOP governors and jump-starting his own presidential career, while Jeb lost his first race for governor of Florida. With his gubernatorial experience, George W. had a leg up to run for president, with access to his father's fundraising network, political advisers and immediate name recognition.

The senior Bush was always available and cordial to the Texas press, knowing you grow the party by getting more coverage. But he also liked the repartee. When Reagan won the Texas primary in 1980, Bush announced his withdrawal from the race while in Houston and afterward invited some of the traveling reporters to his house, where Barbara mixed Manhattans as he bantered with them.

As president, Bush 41 had differences with certain journalists and enjoyed deriding the "mournful pundits." In response, journalists sported "mournful pundit" campaign buttons at the 1992 GOP convention in Houston. But he remained accessible, holding many news conferences, recognizing the importance of a free press in a democracy and factual information. Those were different times, before social media and opinionated cable TV. But one can't imagine him taunting journalists at rallies and calling them "the enemy of the people."

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Bush was deeply hurt when he lost in 1992, feeling fellow Texan Ross Perot's 19 percent siphoned off many of his voters. He wrote in his journal on Nov. 4, 1992, the night after the election: "I don't like to see the pundits right." But he never lost his spirit, his character or basic goodness, penning these words:

"I think of our country and the people who are hurting and there is so much we didn't do. There are so many places we tried, and yes, we made progress. But no, the job is not finished ...

"Now into bed, prepared to face tomorrow: Be strong, be kind, be generous of spirit, be understanding and let people know how grateful you are. Don't get even. Comfort the ones I've hurt and let down. Say your prayers and ask for God's understanding and strength. Finish with a smile and some gusto, and do what's right and finish strong."

Carolyn Barta is a retired professor of journalism at Southern Methodist University and was a longtime political writer at The Dallas Morning News.

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