Praise, confusion for Clements Tax question sparks several interpretations By Post lTtieEllYWriter C1126 Bill Cements was praised Tuesday for saying something he says he didn't really mean — unless the hypothesis that prompted it turns out to be true. The former governor who is the cur- rent Republican gubernatorial contend- er triggered some confusion when he responded last weekend to what he and his campaign describe as a highly spec- ulative question Clements thinks was based on a hypothesis that never will come true. Cements, who has campaigned long and hard on his absolute opposition to any new taxes for Texas, says he an- swered a "what-if" question by saying he would keep his options to a tax in- crease open should such a situation oc- cur. That brought about a story on Mon- day saying Clements had backed awa), from his adamant position and was leaving the tax door open in case the need for an increase arises some day. • A variety of interpretations ensued — with even one of his hard-campaigning backers praising him for having the courage to do it. But even the backer — Kent Hance, whom Clements defeated in May for the GOP gubernatorial nomination — pro- nounced it all "a big to-do about really nothing." For, in truth, Hance said, "Bill Clem- ents is still against raising taxes. But he's not going to get himself in a posi- tion Fti governor and have people think- ing about him like they think about (Democratic incumbent) Mark White." Still, Hance said, "It's better for him to have those options available. It took some courage on his part to say that." Cements and his press aide Reggie Bashur say the former governor, who was uusted by White in 1982, thought he was saying he would want to keep his options open if he, as governor several CLEMENTS: Options HANCE: 'Big to-do' years from now, were faced with a defin- itive $5 billion shortfall and only a very short period of time in which to deal with it. Why he decided to deal with a hypo- thetical question for the first time in his long campaign is not clear. It is clear, however, that Cements and his camp would be having a better week had he not responded with what they call "an imaginary answer" to "an imaginary question" based on "a doomsday scenario." Tuesday, he told about 400 at a Natu- ral Gas Men of Houston luncheon he is opposed to new taxes for Texas and does not think any are necessary, or likely to be. Then he told a gang of reporters the same thing all over again. He went through the day — as he had Monday — insisting his is a consistent position against new taxes. What was new, Flashur said, was the former governor's responding to the hy- pothesis. "Is that significant? Was he talking about a real kind of situation he thinks is going to occur? No." "It's kind of like asking Mark White if he would send the guardsmen to the Alamo if Mexican troops decide to come back and do it again," Bashur main- tained. "If Mark White chose to answer a question of that type of speculation, he probably would say, `yes.' Does that mean Mark White is going to send guardsmen to the Alamo in anticipation of Mexican troops surrounding it again? Probably not." Bashur said he can't answer why Cements responded to the speculative question. Cements said he's not going to do it again. Yes, he did say it, he acknowledged. Yes, he would want his options open in that kind of situation, he said. But, no, he declared, he's convinced that situation will not arise. And, yes, he insisted, he really is still opposed to any new taxes and is just sure none will be necessary if he is elect- ed governor in November. Furthermore, he said, he has no in- tention of bowing to pressure from some within his party — such as John Connal- ly — and condoning a tax increase. So that means there will be no new taxes if he is governor? "In my judgment, that's absolutely right," he said. Meanwhile, Cements confirmed he has sold 960,000 shares of the Schlum- berger stock which came into his control when the international company took over the former governor's oil drilling company. Noting he and his family still have "a huge investment" in Schlumberger, Cements said he decided to sell the stock — which went for $34 a share — when he resigned from the Schlum- berger board in June. He resigned, he said, because he realized the pressure of his gubernatorial campaign was pre- venting him from giving the kind of representation he thinks the company's 300 million shareholders deserve. And he decided to reduce his invest- ment in Schlumberger, he said, when he realized he wouldn't be on the board "to protect my interests, so to speak."