Congressional candidates of the party out of power. And LBJ in the White House was vulnerable on
a number of points, from the escalation of the Viet Nam war to stagflation. The designergerrymandering of the new Houston congressional district had functioned perfectly, and so had his (^)
demagogic shift towards the "vital center" of moderate conservatism. Because the district was
newly drawn, there would be no well-known incumbent to contend with. And now, by one of the
convenient coincidences that seem to be strewn through Bush's life , the only obstacle between him
and election was a troglodyte Democratc conservative of an ugly and vindictive type, the sort offigure who would make even Bush look reasonable.
The Democrat in question was Frank Briscoe, a former district attorney. According to the Texas
Observer, "Frank Briscoe was one of the most vicious prosecutors in Houston's history. He actually
maintained a 'ten most wanted convictions list' by which he kept the public advised of howluck he had getting convictions against his chosen defendants then being held in custody. Now, as a much (^)
candidate for Congress, Briscoe is running red-eyed for the right-wing in Houston. He is anti-
Democratic,; anti-civil rights; anti-foreign aid; anti-war on poverty. The fact that he calls himself a
Democrat is utterly irrelevant." By contrast, from the point of view of the Texas Observer, "His
opponent, George Bush, is a conservative man. He favors the war in Vietnam; he was forGoldwater, although probably reluctantly; he is nobody's firebrand. Yet Bush is simply civilized in (^)
race relations, and he is now openly rejecting the support of the John Birch Society. This is one case
where electing a Republican to Congress would help preserve the two-party balance of the country
and at the same time spare Texas the embarrassment" of having somebody like Briscoe go to
Washington. [fn 5] Bussensitive and dynamic, not scared and reactionary," Bush's ideological face-lifting was working. "I wh told the Wall Street Journal. ant conservatism to be
Briscoe appears in retrospect as a candidate made to order for Bush's new moderate profile, and
there are indications that is just what he was. Sources in Houston recall that in 1966 there was
another Democratic candidate for the new Congrenamed Wildenthal. These sources say that Bush's backers provided large-scale financial support forssional seat, a moderate and attractive Democrat (^)
Briscoe in the Democratic primary campaign, with the result that Wildenthal lost out to Briscoe,
setting up the race that Bush found to his advantage. A designer district was not enough for George;
he also required a designer opponent if he was to prevail-- a fact which may be relevant to the final
evaulation of what happened in 1988.
One of the key points of differentiation between Bush and Briscoe was on race. The district had
about 15% black population, but making some inroads here among registered Democrats would be
of decisive importance for the GOP side. Bush made sure that he was seen sponsoring a black
baseball team, and talked a lot about his work for tat Yale. He told the press that "black power" agitators were not a problem among the morehe United Negro College Fund when he had been
responsible blacks in Houston "I think the day is past," Bush noted, "when we can afford to have a
lily white district. I will not attempt to appeal to the white backlash. I am in step with the 1960's."
Bush even took up a position in the Office of Economic Opportunity anti-povety apparatus in the
city. He supported Project Head Start. By contrast, Briscoe "accused" Bush of courting blacksupport, and reminded Bush that other Texas Congressmen had been voting against civil rights (^)
legislation when it came up in Congress. Briscoe had antagonized parts of the black community by
his relentless pursuit of the death penalty in cases involving black capital defendants. According to
the New York Times, "Negro leaders have mounted a quiet campaign to get Negroes to vote for
[Bush]."
Briscoe's campaign ads stressed that he was a right-winger and a Texan, and accused Bush of being
"the darling of the Lindsey [sic]- Javits crowd," endorsed by labor unions, liberal professors, liberal
Republicans and liberal syndicated columnists. Briscoe was proud of his endorsements from Gov.
John Connally and the Conservative Action Committee, a local right-wing group. One endorsement