Molly Ivins, the outspoken critic of this administration in general and George W. Bush specifically died today, just 4 and a half months after another outspoken critic Ann Richards. Both women fought and lost a valiant battle against breast cancer, but that will not be their epitaph. It was their fight against the insidiousness of the Bush Family Cartel that will stamp them as courageous and both of them, along with Barbara Jordon, have been instrumental in opening the door for strong women in politics like Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Maxine Waters and many other women. They placed their stamp and particular brand of Texas politics on this country.
Molly particularly, chronicled the mis-adventures of Bush in “Shrub- The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush.” I strongly recommend it for a lesson in GWB and for humorous entertainment.
I had the pleasure of having two breakfasts and one lunch with Molly Ivins in September 2000 during her chemotherapy treatments and 1st bout with cancer and right after she had published her book “Shrub.” We found ourselves thrown together at a women’s conference and her disdain for Bush and my disgust over him running for office brought us together for a couple of days as “friends” but not really, one of those passing through kind of meetings.
She was a bit condescending at my naivety in believing that the US electoral system would provide us with anything but a Bush win. In spite of her cynical view of our election system Molly never seemed to give up hope that “the people” would throw the bums out. I can still hear here rich Texas drawl say “honey, you jus don’t know Texas Politics, George will be Prezident, they will see to it, we will have to see he isn’t there long.” She also had a firm belief in GWB’s ability to fail regularly and profoundly and that would surely encourage the country to show him the door. Except from her columns after 2004 I can’t imagine what she thought about the fact that “we the people” had failed to throw the bum out.
Her last column summed up her views and hopes for her “beloved” people of this country; "We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war," Ivins wrote in her Jan. 11 column. "We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!'"
Molly Ivins born August 30, 1944, Monterey, California (NT) grew up in Texas and died in Texas January 31, 2007 (NT) like Ann Richards, she was a Virgo, with a biting tongue, an unapologetic bleeding heart liberal, and she never gave up.
I have several books that she autographed, the last one she signed for me was that September 2000 in Arizona. She wrote “keep fighting for freedom.”
She probably signed all her books with the same phrase, it would have been a way in her mind to keep the message alive to everyone she touched or who touched her.
In this day of so much confusion, violence, things hard to understand as the world shifts and rolls toward a new consciousness, squeezing ourselves into a new birth while trying to get rid of the old, I wanted all of us to stop and say good bye to a great wit and observer of the times.
Barbara Jordon, Ann Richards and Molly Ivins three of the finest and strongest “Yellow Roses” Texas ever produced.