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DeLeon Native Offers His
Prescription
for the Restoration of the
Democratic Party and State
“Barn Burning, Barn Building: Tales of a
Political Life, from LBJ through George W. Bush and Beyond,” a new 256
page hardback autobiography written by Ben Barnes with Lisa Dickey,
published by Bright Sky Press in Albany, Texas ($24.95).
Most long time DeLeon residents will be
familiar with the name Ben Barnes. Indeed, many here are related to,
or attended school with him either in Comyn-Theney or in DeLeon.
Many more got to know him during his 1960
campaign for the Texas House of Representatives as a green 21-year-old
who was married to his high school sweetheart, Martha Morgan, and
working on a law degree at the University of Texas in Austin.
He won that campaign in a surprising
upset, the first of many notable political victories that he would
score.
Before his political career was concluded
at the still-tender age of 34, Ben Barnes would become a power to be
reckoned with, both in Texas and in the nation.
Even after his elective political career
was finished, Barnes teamed up with former Governor John Connally and
formed one of the largest real estate development partnerships in the
state. That venture foundered during the real estate recession of the
late 1980’s, but Barnes bounced back for yet a third career, this time
as a powerful lobbyist and political consultant, working from Austin
to Washington.
Barnes opens his book with details of his
early days growing up in Comyn and DeLeon. He recounts how his English
teacher, Lucille Dukes, and his football coach, Al Langford, inspired
him and taught him valuable lessons. He warmly recalls DeLeon mail
carrier Ham Locke, who was one of his earliest and strongest political
backers in the 1960 election for State Representative.
The Kennedy assassinations, the space
race, the UT Tower sniping, the Viet Nam war and the Sharpstown
scandal are but a few of the significant historical settings for
Barnes’ recollections from an insider’s perspective.
His dealings with political figures
included House Speaker Sam Rayburn, Senators Ralph Yarbrough, John
Tower, Lloyd Bentsen, Robert Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, Governors
Alan Shivers, Price Daniel, John Connally, and Preston Smith, Attorney
General Waggoner Carr, Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, and
many others. Jimmy Hoffa is even included.
Barnes cites evidence that he ended up on
President Richard Nixon’s famous “enemies list” and recounts how the
Justice Department while Nixon was president sought and ultimately
succeeded in bringing about Barnes’ political demise.
Barnes tells how he was present when John
Connally convinced Richard Nixon to rescue George H.W. Bush’s failed
political career. Barnes also details how he helped arrange for George
W. Bush to get into the Air Force National Guard and to stay out of
Viet Nam.
It all makes for fascinating reading for
anyone who can recall events from those days, or for those who wish to
read about recent history in the making.
The subtitle of Barnes’ book accurately
describes its subject matter. Politics is the main focus. Barnes’
personal life and his life after leaving elective office is given
relatively brief attention.
Barnes closes the book with his analysis
of what has gone wrong with the Texas and national Democratic Party
and for politics in general in modern America. He offers his
prescription for improvement, one that seems very similar to how
things were in Texas in the 1960’s.
Regardless of your political leanings,
those who are interested in politics, as well as those who personally
knew Ben Barnes, will find his recollections most fascinating. I
predict you will have a hard time putting the book down until the last
page has been turned. |
