Former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright dies
May 7,2015
Reposted from Star-Telegram
In 1939, one of Jim Wright’s classmates penned a prescient note in the high school yearbook, predicting that, in 1955, “Congressman Wright” would deliver “the most erudite speech heard in the Congressional Hall.”
Sixteen years later, in 1955, Mr. Wright arrived in Washington as the newly elected U.S. representative from the 12th District of Texas. It was the beginning of a 34-year congressional career that fulfilled a boyhood dream and ended with his becoming the 48th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Even after that part of his career collapsed in 1989, Mr. Wright portrayed himself as a lucky man. “I got to do in life what I set out to do,” he said repeatedly.
For the next quarter-century, Mr. Wright continued to be active in the community, teaching at TCU, writing columns for the Star-Telegram and serving as a political oracle.
Mr. Wright died about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday at a Fort Worth care center. He was 92.
“Jim represented the people of his beloved Texas for over three decades,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “He was a committed public leader and a proud World War II veteran who dedicated much of his life to serving his country.”
Interactive timeline: The life and times of Jim Wright
At the height of his power, he fortified his hometown with millions of dollars in government pork, from defense jobs to water projects. President John F. Kennedy once called Fort Worth “the best-represented city” in America.
“Speaker Jim Wright’s footprint in Fort Worth and North Texas is large,” said U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the Republican who now represents the 12th District. “He was instrumental in projects that helped build this state and particularly North Texas to the prominent place it holds today.”
Former President George H.W. Bush saluted Wright’s career. “We didn’t often agree on the issues during our time in Washington, but we did share both a deep and abiding love for this country as well as a commitment to service,” he said.
Long after he left Washington, Mr. Wright’s name was often repeated in the news because of the Wright Amendment — the federal law that limited airline service at Dallas Love Field for nearly 35 years to protect the newer Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
Old-school mold
In many respects, Mr. Wright was one of the last practitioners of old-school Texas politics from the lineage of Lyndon Johnson, Sam Rayburn and John Connally.
He was a skilled backroom negotiator, a captivating storyteller and a persuasive orator. His bushy eyebrows, broad grin and twangy Texas accent were enduring trademarks.
Mr. Wright became House speaker in January 1987. His activist leadership resulted in early successes, including a bipartisan Central American peace plan that ended a decade of turbulence in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
But his effectiveness was eroded by a House ethics investigation into complaints that Mr. Wright violated House rules through outside business dealings. While Mr. Wright steadfastly denied wrongdoing, the furor virtually halted business in the House.
On May 31, 1989, after weeks of soul-searching, Mr. Wright stood at the House podium and relinquished the speakership, saying he could no longer lead effectively.
“Let me give you back this job you gave to me as a propitiation for all of this season of bad will that has grown up among us,” Mr. Wright told colleagues, his voice choked with emotion. “I don’t want to be a party to tearing up this institution. I love it.”
Mr. Wright and his wife, Betty, returned to Fort Worth. He settled into what he said was a satisfying routine that included giving lectures, writing books and teaching a government course at TCU. Betty Wright, a former professional dancer, took tap-dance lessons.
He said they eventually came to consider the forced move from stress-filled Washington a blessing in disguise.