By George: the republicans could use some advice on how to govern, George Christian, the late wise man of Texas politics, is just the man to give it. (Behind the Lines).

Publication: Texas Monthly

Publication Date: 01-JAN-03

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Texas Monthly, Inc.

FUNERALS ARE AN OCCASION TO reflect upon the ravages of time, upon all that mattered once but is no more. So it was at the December 2 service for George Christian, the former LBJ hand and wise man of Texas politics. His death seemed to symbolize the changes that are taking place at the Capitol, where he spent most of his professional life. His career--as a newsman, as an adviser to two governors, as White House press secretary, and as a political consultant spanned the evolution of Texas from a one-party Democratic state to what is now virtually a one-party Republican state. The audience included former governors Dolph Briscoe, Mark White, and Ann Richards and a throng of state officials, current and former legislators, lobbyists, and friends. Although erstwhile Republican rivals Governor Rick Perry and U.S. senator Kay Bailey Hutchison were prominently in attendance, along with other Republican leaders, the crowd was heavily Democratic, and one had to wonder how many of them mourned not only for Christian but also for the era that had come to an end.

Christian himself was more intrigued by the future. He had hoped to live through the legislative session that begins this month; as he told me a year ago, when I wrote about his decision to forgo chemotherapy for lung cancer ("Onward, Christian," February 2002), "Watching the Republicans, now that they have their teeth on the tire, is going to be fun. I've got to ... see if the tire rolls over them." What he wanted...

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