Ann Richards, 1933-2006

When I moved to Texas in 1993--to College Station, no less--I knew little about the state except that Ann Richards was governor. It was comforting. Here's the NYT:

Ms. Richards was the most recent and one of the most effective in a long-line of Lone Star State progressives who vied for control of Texas in the days when it was largely a one-party Democratic enclave, a champion of civil rights, gay rights and feminism. Her defeat by the future president was one of the chief markers of the end of generations of Democratic dominance in Texas.

The Times also recalls that during her second campaign, ". . . she underestimated her young Republican challenger from West Texas, going so far as to refer to George W. Bush as 'some jerk,' a comment that drew considerable criticism."

Typically, she was being charitable, and we ignored her at our peril, our considerable, expensive, meaningless peril.

Richards' passing saddens me. Yesterday, Texas was a long way gone from the progressive spirit that it saw during the last century; today, we're a long way from seeing again. Indeed: more than ever, it looks like you can't get there from here.