Sen. Ralph Yarborough

[Richard Coleman]

In the thread "Lyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace - by Joan Mellen", Tom Bowden included this about Sen. Ralph Yarborough: "In 1964, a former FBI and Houston Policeman* went public about his role in delivering 250K to Yarborough." (post #58)

Drew Phipps in a reply to me regarding Yarborough's statement about LBJ furtively engaged in a communication via walkie-talkie during the cade, posted this: "Yarborough did say that, and more besides. He hated LBJ, though, so take that with a grain of salt. I do find extremely interesting the nearly prescient protective reactions of LBJ's Secret Service guys." (post #60)

Not being an expert on the subject of Yarborough, I hunted up a bio of him on the internet. Here are a couple of excerpts:

[As Assistant Texas Attorney General] "Yarborough was an expert in Texas land law and specialized in prosecuting major oil companies violating production limits and not paying oil royalties to the Permanent School Fund for drilling on public lands. Yarborough became famous for a million dollar judgement against the Mid-Kansas Oil and Gas Company for oil royalties, the second largest judgement ever in Texas at the time."

"In office, Ralph Yarborough was a very different kind of Southern senator. He refused to sign the Southern Manifesto opposing integration and supported national Democratic goals of more funding for healthcare, education, and environment. Himself a veteran, he worked to expand the GI Bill of Rights to cold war veterans."

"Yarborough easily makes the list of greatest conservationists from Texas with his success at making Padre Island, the Guadalupe Mountains, and the Big Thicket into protected parkland (the last one after he left the Senate). Supporters and former aides that rose to prominence include Jim Hightower, Ann Richards, and Gary Mauro."

Full article: http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Y...Ralph.html

Seems to me you fellas are slamming a pretty decent guy as both possibly corrupt and a liar. Care to back any of it up?

*A former FBI agent and Houston cop? Really??

[Tom Bowden]

\
I have never uploaded a picture before so I hope this works. This is a picture of some of the tapes made during the BSE investigation. Buford Sheffield, son of Slim Sheffield, was present at the delivery of money from BSE to LBJ crony Cliff Carter. During my interview he mentioned James Fonswell and the Yarbrough disclosure. I subsequently interviewed James Fonswell. He confirmed both delivery of money to LBJ and Yarbrough. During the height of the 1964 senate campaign, he was interviewed on KHOU TV in Houston. At the time he was working in the Police department. He recounted the story of the contribution. Yarbrough was the epitome Liberal Democrat at the time. Texas politics was rough and tumble. Taking large contributions was not considered a sin. Yarbrough, however, would later be tainted by the Sharpstown scandal in 1972. I have audio of the Sheffield interview. Video and audio of the Fonswell interview. I do not get my information by reading books and documents. I do in person interviews. (Just noticed my interview with Richard Belzer is this box. We introduced his book at the museum.)

[Drew Phipps]

I'm not saying Yarbrough was lying. I am saying that Yarbrough would have been ready and willing to believe the worst about LBJ. I don't recall anyone else besides Yarbrough recounting the walkie talkie business, and even if it happened, it may have had nothing to do with the assassination. You have to combine that with a lot of other LBJ anomalies to reasonably conclude that he had advance knowledge of the shooting. And those other anomalies DO exist, some of them even told by folks who didn't hate LBJ's guts.

I lived in Houston at the time of the Sharpstown incident. My parent were involved in the community project to stop the mall, and they enlisted us kids to find some salamanders (that were endangered) in that area to slow the project down.

[Tom Bowden]

I have stated several time in this and other forums that I do not believe LBJ had advance knowledge of the assassination. I do believe some of his supporters and close advisors did. I have never read the context of Yarbrough's walkie talkie comment but I do have a hard time believing it actually happened.

[Richard Coleman]

It's late, so I can't reply in full at the moment. Maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'd refer interested readers to this account of the SHARPSTOWN STOCK-FRAUD SCANDAL. This is from the Texas State Historical Association:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/onlin...cles/mqs01

Note: There's no mention of Yarborough.

[Tom Bowden]

"Taking large contributions was not considered a sin. Yarbrough, however, would later be tainted by the Sharpstown scandal in 1972."

Tainted was the wrong word to use…affected would have been better.

In 1972, Ralph Yarborough made a comeback effort to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator as a challenger of Republican Sen. John Tower. Yarborough won the first round of the primary, coming short 526 votes of a full victory. Again, Yarborough suspected vote fraud from the conservative wing. He lost in the primary runoff to Barefoot Sanders in an anti-incumbent sweep after the Sharpstown Bank-stock Scandal despite neither being an incumbent nor involved at all with the scandal. It was Yarborough's last run for office.

My primary point was BSE was very liberal in his dealing with racial issues. He is still remembered in Pecos for his use of the Bracero program and treatment of Mexicans. He was also honored during the fifties for educating many blacks. HIs politics were closer to Yarbrough than LBJ. His backing of LBJ was only opportunistic.