Word: bentsen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Lloyd Bentsen(D., Texas...
Texas--Senator Lloyd Benson's brief and unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination may have damaged his chances for re-election at home. By shifting slightly to the left on some issues to appeal to a national constituency, Bentsen alienated much of the conservative support in the business community that helped him capture the seat in 1970. His support for an elimination of the oil depletion allowance for major oil companies also strained his ties to the business sector of his constituency. However, many Democrats are still cool to Bentsen because he unseated liberal Senator Ralph Yarborough...
Such new problems and old wounds provide an opportunity for an upset by Representative Alan Steelman, Bentsen's GOP challenger. However, Steelman has problems of his own. His voting record in the House stands out as quite moderate in comparison to his fellow Republicans in the state delegation. He has complicated matters by attacking Bentsen from the left by support the Equal Rights Amendment and liberalized abortion laws, and from the right, by favoring state right-to-work laws and opposing oil company divestiture. This tactic has in effect reproduced Bentsen's problem of fracturing the electorate...
...attempt to control the center, the two moderates have taken conflicing stances within their own party platforms, so that support from both left and right will be scattered in both camps. However, Bentsen's strong support from organized labor may be the trump card that allows him to eek out a narrow victory...
...Texas, Republican Representative Alan W. Steelman, 34, who left a post as executive director of President Nixon's advisory council on minority business enterprise to become, in 1973, the youngest member of the House, is now running for the U.S. Senate against Democratic Incumbent Lloyd Bentsen. Although Steelman is given little chance to win, he is making his name known statewide and is someone to watch in the future. Similarly, Texas Democratic Attorney General John Luke Hill, 52, who rates between moderate and liberal in the state's political spectrum and has been especially effective in enforcing environmental laws...