Former Texas Governor Bill Clements dies at 94

Source: Reuters

Former Texas Governor Bill Clements, who was the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction when he took office in 1979, has died at the age of 94.

His family said in a statement that he died after a brief hospital stay surrounded by his wife, daughter, and numerous family members. He had been ill for several months, the statement said.

Clements, who served two terms as governor, from 1979 to 1983 and from 1987 to 1991, was remembered by current Governor Rick Perry as "the father of the modern day Republican party" in the state.

Expressing condolences from himself and his wife Anita, Perry said in a statement: "Anita and I are deeply saddened today as our state and nation have lost a true pioneer, and a larger-than-life entrepreneur, public servant and, most of all, a Texan."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/30/us-clements-idUSTRE74S2TO20110530

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Truly, Mr Clements has seceeded from this Earthly plane.

I'd take Clements any day over Perry. And just like Nixon, Clements would stand no chance of getting out of the GOP primary in today's GOP.

I agree fully with you. If we can't get a Democratic governor, I'd far sooner have a grouchy, temperamental conservative like Bill Clements over the sorts of reactionary ideologues and profiteers that today's Texas Republican Party is going to throw at us.

I understand that there are many Republicans who think that their party has drifted into reactionary lunacy. Unfortunately, however much they may deplore such a drift in private, they still rally around their party.

on him and be done with it.

Crooked businessman, crooked governor, spawner of the current Republican overlords in Texas.


Bye, Bill.

When he was Chairman of the Board of Governors at SMU, he approved the plan to pay 13 football players through a slush fund by a booster, which led SMU to receive the "death penalty" in football.