To: Dale Baker who wrote (134563 ) 3/24/2010 11:24:38 AM From: JohnM Respond to I remember the name. And thinking back, Tower and Bentsen both had much more stature and clout than the two puffballs holding down those Senate seats today. Ralph Webster Yarborough (June 8, 1903 – January 27, 1996) was a Texas Democratic politician who served in the United States Senate (1957 to 1971) and was a leader of the progressive or liberal wing of his party in his many races for statewide office. As a U.S. senator, he was a staunch supporter and author of "Great Society" legislation that encompassed Medicare and Medicaid, the War on Poverty, federal support for higher education and veterans. He co-wrote the Endangered Species Act and was the only southern senator to vote for all civil rights bills from 1957 to 1970 (including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965). Yarborough was known as "Smilin' Ralph" Yarborough and used the slogan "Let's put the jam on the lower shelf so the little people can reach it" in his campaigns. en.wikipedia.org Historically, Texas had been a one-party state. Democrats would win every statewide office, nearly all of the congressional delegation, and large majorities in the state legislature. Thus, general elections were formalities, and the real battles took place in the Democratic primaries between the conservative wing (pre-presidency Lyndon Baines Johnson, Governor Allan Shivers, John Connally), and the liberal wing (with which Yarborough identified), which was more in line with the national party.
