“Poor George. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

by digby

It is probably inappropriate to bring this up on the sad occasion of her death, but the passing of Governor Ann Richards tonight brings to mind one of the most despicable political campaigns in American politics. I have a feeling that Governor Richards would understand, though — she didn’t seem to care too much for stiff propriety — and it may be just the right moment to remind every Democrat running for office right now to watch his or her back.

The Bush family hated her for saying that “poor George” line at the 1988 convention. When Junior ran against her for governor, Karl Rove got their revenge for them.

Ann Richards was a socially progressive and inclusive governor of Texas, appointing a few gays and lesbians to state boards and commissions. In 1994, Rove pinpointed this as an issue certain to help George W. Bush win election in a conservative state. Of course, Rove was not about to let his candidate broach the subject himself. Instead, he worked through Republican operatives in East Texas. Rumors soon began to circulate through coffee shops and agricultural co-ops that implied Gov. Richards, an unmarried woman, might be a lesbian. Without identifying the topic, she acknowledged she was being hurt. “You know what it’s about,” she told reporters, dismissively, after being asked about the rumors. “And I’m not talking about it.”

But Republican state Sen. Bill Ratliff from East Texas, who was also Bush’s regional coordinator for that part of the state, was quoted in newspapers as criticizing Richards for “appointing avowed homosexual activists” to state jobs. The rumors were then given a form of legitimacy and widely reported. Then just as he did with Kerry and the Swift Boat controversy, Rove had Bush step forward as a voice of understanding and reason. “The senator doesn’t speak for me,” Bush told reporters. “I don’t know anything about what he’s talking about. I’m trying to run an issues-oriented campaign.”

Governor Richards would undoubtedly join us in hoping that it won’t be too many more years before that particular “smear” will no longer be a smear at all but just a natural description of a person that carries no value judgment one way or the other.

She lost that election, of course, but she carried on with style, panache and great wit. She was a great lady and one of my favorite Texans. RIP.

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