DALLAS TIMES HERALD. Thursday. December 3, 1981 • Hightower brings down-home campaign to Potomac BY RICHARD FLY Washington Bureau , WASHINGTON — Texas agricul- ture commissioner candidate Jim Hightower brought his down-home, populist campaign to the Potomac Wednesday, enticing an appreciative rni)rof displaced Texans and urban cowboys to a fund-raiser on his behalf. About 250 people parted with $33 to drink beer and eat tamales with Hightower, who said he hoped to D raise $10.000 for his Democratic pri- mary campaign to unseat incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Reagan Brown. The affair was organized by Lynn Coleman, a Texan and former gen- eral counsel to the Federal Energy Administration, and was hosted by Larry King. the West Texas-born author and playwright The guests included Democratic Rep. Martin Frost of Dallas. former Democratic Rep. Bob Eckhardt of Houston, former presidential aide (D CD 5 rD •.aa 5), CD Sarah Weddington and Fort Worth native and talk show host Charlie Rose. The post of Texas commissioner of agriculture may be a rather ob- scure *political office to most Wash- ingtonians, but Hightower said there are many people who would like "a stronger voice for Texas farmers and consumers up here." "Texas is the third largest food- producing state, and we should have a major voice in the shaping of food policy," he said. "From a state that big and that influential, you can S aucl uo 0 a) crq 0 4 CD 6 ›. 0 re• 0 ( PCD ertainly get the attention of the press and the House and Senate Ag- riculture Committees if you come up here and make a well-reasoned pre- sentation on the economic situation." Borrowing a line from his unsuc- cessful primary campaign for the .,Texas Railroad Commission in 1980, Hightower said he believes Texans will elect a progressive who empha- sizes "pocketbook issues." • He plans to spend $300,000 on the primary race, but Hightower added, "The secret weapon I have is my opponent." The former editor of the Texas Observer also tapped .his friends in Washington when he ran for the Railroad Comrnission. He finished with almost 49 per cent of the vote, but lost to the incumbent, Jim Nugent Hightower spent nine years in Washington, first as an aid to for- mer Democratic Sen. Ralph Yarbor- ough and then as an official with the Agribusiness Accountability Project. lie got a strong vote of confidence from King. "I would •go anywhere that Jim Hightower asked me to if I wasn't dead drunk, had a broken leg or tied to a tree," he said. "I don't know if he knows any more about farming .than I do, but he's a great American." "I want to thank Larry King," Hightower said later.. "Sometimes your friends are your own worst enemies." 0 ^ 0 a 2, 7. `-,< o e: >5'0 z- crq F?, , rt) ," •-• °.2 •5%) z ,-,,L .=;* 7). 5") z < CD ,.,o•i; 2 cm, g (1) E. 7 Vd. " CD 5 FT; P j!, 9 o a 0 • O • 0 0. 7'g O (1) 2) .7!".. a 0 0 c 4,.., s.) c° r7 pv-2,.,Do> .11... g:3 61) rsol § f.T u9 .-s (,:, pu....cs 0) 8 0. — 0 g• °.,', .9.- z 8.. ., _cm `-< .-3 ,'.3 F E, '6,- (ti) FL o g ,.,. — 0 ,.< E. ,;,.., ,-....-. — ircl• .;-. . wa r>7 F,''''c ,..cort,v'cu er, -(7) • :::".. -.4." .-.2) DCa- 14 1.--i 2') C v) I ry 7.4 a' a 2 rD • 0 — ..crci (.-. ...•,, !.. • ... ,,,, t ,e. ....., t,„ e•••• rD ' . V Fla 5 .1- ,a- 5 — 0 0 .... , it, , , , , f wn ) . ; or -" - . . i< . , - - , - • av7 . ! 2 ! 0,2 "1._2 zn „. rD C 0 B ca E. ,,5 CA y? '-' 0 0 ,-. •-•• 0 a) '-i„ co:C$ , 0 0 r 4 a 0 a• 3 0 Crq (1) et) 0.) CL ,-• . ?.. .-... .-1 fa, 7' 0 '' a 0. a '2. v• et) 0 X .1v rD 6, a a) _. ... ... .... ...ca...a II 1713,.. -.• tni7L au' 0r) Er '-',.., • : ; .-1 r)',L.' r.)!.4.. 0 -c....1 5 Ct. 0 - , 0. R cp < FT; •i• v) . ,6". 0 cr° '1, z .1. A, r, 0 i - ,_. - --, - cn . - , - c., .,. 01.12 aauTAuoo 02 ,f; 5 CL 011 ;) 0 is, Bt•