[Vision2020] Political Columnis Molly Ivins Dies at 62

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (February 1, 2007) Spokesman Review -

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Political columnist Molly Ivins dies at 62 

Elaine Woo 
Los Angeles Times
February 1, 2007

Molly Ivins, the irrepressibly irreverent political humorist and syndicated
columnist who skewered legislators, governors and presidents, especially
those from her beloved Texas, died of cancer Wednesday at her home in
Austin. She was 62.

Ivins was diagnosed in 1999 with a rare and aggressive form of breast
cancer. After fighting two recurrences, she became ill again last year as
the disease spread throughout her body. Her death was announced by the Texas
Observer, where she began her career as a political pundit 30 years ago.

Ivins established herself as a font of liberal outrage and hilarity during
the 1970s, when she was an editor and writer at the Texas Observer. She went
on to write for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times,
The Nation, The Atlantic, Esquire, Readers Digest, the Dallas Times Herald
and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"No one is ambivalent about Molly Ivins, any more than Molly Ivins was
ambivalent about issues," wrote Doug Floyd, the editorial page editor at The
Spokesman-Review, where her syndicated column ran about once a week. "She
was irreverent, plainspoken and even shrill, and readers either loved her or
hated her for it, but by golly they pay attention to her. Her followers were
never shy about calling us when they felt we weren't running enough of her
work, and her detractors complained - but they read her first."

Ivins also was the bestselling author of several books, including "Molly
Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?" (1991) and two sassily titled volumes on
President George W. Bush, co-written with Lou Dubose: "Shrub: The Short but
Happy Political Life of George W. Bush" (2000) and "Bushwhacked: Life in
George W. Bush's America" (2003).

Some of her pieces were deeply reflective or affectionate, such as her
essays about Ann Richards, the former Texas governor who died in 2006;
Barbara Jordan, the late black congresswoman remembered for her eloquence
during the Nixon impeachment debates; and an anonymous visitor to the
Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

She was best known, however, for her mastery of what one critic called the
"well-informed potshot," which she generally reserved for conservative
figures such as Bush (aside from "Shrub" and "Dubya" she called him
"President Billy Bob Forehead"), Arnold Schwarzenegger ("a condom filled
with walnuts") and talk-show host Rush Limbaugh (whose bite was "akin to
being gummed by a newt. ... it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle").

Liberals did not escape her arrows, either. Writing at the height of the
Monica Lewinsky scandal, Ivins described President Clinton as "weaker than
bus-station chili."

Her favorite target, however, was the Texas Legislature, which she referred
to as "the Lege" (pronounced like ledge). Describing knock-down-drag-out
brawls, flagrant bias and absurd laws, she wrote of its shortcomings with
gusto and horror, declaring it "the finest free entertainment in Texas.
Better than the zoo. Better than the circus."

She described herself as "a left-wing, aging-Bohemian journalist, who never
made a shrewd career move, never dressed for success, never got married, and
isn't even a lesbian, which at least would be interesting."

In 2001 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
along with King Juan Carlos of Spain, fashion photographer Richard Avedon
and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She described her
reaction to the honor in typical Ivins twang: It had left her
"whomperjawed."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity --
like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public
contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the
weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful.
When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar."

- Molly Ivins