Henry Grover
Encyclopedia
Henry Cushing "Hank" Grover (April 1, 1927– November 28, 2005), was a conservative
politician from the U.S.
state of Texas
best known for his relatively narrow defeat as the Republican
gubernatorial nominee in 1972. Grover was born in Corpus Christi
. He died in Houston
of Alzheimer's disease
.
Grover lived as a youth in San Antonio
. A Roman Catholic, he graduated from the college-preparatory and all-male St. Thomas High School in Houston. He received his Bachelor of Arts
degree in history
and political science
from the University of St. Thomas
and his Master of Arts
degree in the same subjects from the University of Houston
. His master's thesis
was on Colonel Edward M. House of Houston, a Democrat active in the campaign to elect Woodrow Wilson
as the U.S. President.
in 1960, 1962, and 1964 as a Democrat
. In 1966, he switched parties and was elected to the District 15
of the Texas State Senate. In the 1972 Republican gubernatorial primary, Grover led a field of five with 37,118 votes (32.6 percent). Houston businessman Albert Bel Fay
ran second with 24,329 ballots (21.3 percent). Three other largely unknown candidates shared a surprisingly large 41.8 percent of the vote.
In an even lower turnout runoff primary, Grover defeated Fay (1913–1992), the Republican national committeeman from Texas (1960–1969). Grover received 37,842 votes (66.4 percent), some 700 more votes than he received in the first primary, to Fay's 19,166 (33.6 percent), or 5,000 fewer votes than he obtained in the primary. The Sharpstown bank scandal, which had damaged many of the state's Democratic leaders, worked to Grover's advantage, for he could depict himself as an untainted Republican nominee for governor. His uncompromising conservative, constitutionalist views may have hurt him among moderate voters in both parties.
Grover lost the general election
by almost exactly 100,000 votes to the Democratic nominee, former state Representative Dolph Briscoe, Jr.
, of Uvalde
. Grover carried almost all of the state's urban centers. The final tally was 1,633,493 (47.9 percent) for Briscoe and 1,533,986 (45 percent) for Grover. Briscoe was a "minority governor" because he failed to garner a simple majority of the votes. The Hispanic
La Raza
candidate, then 29-year-old Ramsey Muñiz, received 214,118 votes (6 percent), nearly all believed to have been at Briscoe's expense. (Two other minor candidates shared 27,994 votes, or 0.8 percent.) Muñiz's support was insufficient to deny victory to Briscoe, but political analysts contend that Briscoe's margin was largely dependent on Hispanic voters in rural areas of south Texas who traditionally stuck with their Democratic nominees.
Grover's Catholicism was apparently not an issue with Texas voters. Had he been elected, he would have become the first Catholic governor of the State of Texas. Many believed that Texas had supported Republican Herbert Hoover
in 1928 because opponent Alfred E. Smith was Catholic. Texas, however, had voted in 1960 for John F. Kennedy
, the nation's first Catholic president.
direction to attract those who had previously favored Alabama
Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., for president and combine those otherwise traditionally Democratic voters with the Republican base, consisting mostly of fiscal conservatives. Tower favored a different approach to expand the party by attracting middle-of-the-roaders who stressed "good government" and those with economically conservative views. Tower and Grover nearly came to fisticuffs in the 1972 campaign when Ernest Angelo
, the new mayor
of Midland
, tried to get the two to work out their differences. The bitterness persisted. While Grover lost his race to Briscoe, Tower was a relatively easy winner for a third term in the Senate over Democrat Harold "Barefoot" Sanders, a former federal judge. The Grover approach appeared to have been vindicated with the 1976 primary victory of former California
Governor
Ronald W. Reagan in the first Texas GOP presidential primary in which voters chose the delegates. Indeed, Grover supported Reagan in 1976 over Tower's choice, the late U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Tower's approach was, however, consistent with the later successes in Texas of the two George Bushes. In his 1991 autobiography, Tower referred to Grover in only one paragraph.
, of Houston, son of later U.S. Secretary of Commerce Robert A. Mosbacher, and conservative-to-libertarian
Congressman Ron Paul
of the district southwest of Houston. Gramm in turn defeated the Democratic nominee, then state Senator and later U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett
, and went on to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate.
to prevent Gramm from filing for both offices in 1996.
"It violates the spirit of representative government in the Texas Constitution," Grover said in his lawsuit, filed at 126th State District Court in Travis County
.
The rule, named for Lyndon B. Johnson
, allows a candidate to seek the presidency or the vice presidency and another office in the same election cycle. It was written in 1960 so that then U.S. Senator Johnson could run for re-election to the Senate as well as for president or vice president if he secured a national Democratic nomination. The Johnson rule was since used by former U.S. Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr., who ran for reelection in 1988 and was also the 1988 Democratic nominee for vice president. Several other states, including Connecticut
with Senator Joseph Lieberman in 2000 and Delaware with Senator Joseph Biden in 2008, also permit presidential and vice presidential candidates to seek other offices at the same time, usually the U.S. Senate being the preferred choice.
Former Republican Senator Phil Gramm
may have benefited from the rule as well had he won his party's presidential nomination in 1996, but he withdrew from the presidential race even before the New Hampshire primary. Grover's suit went nowhere: the Johnson rule remains in effect in Texas.
groups, Grover finished last in the three-man primary, with just 72,400 votes (7.34 percent). David Young, who termed himself "more moderate" than Gramm, finished second with 75,463 (7.65 percent). Gramm polled 838,339 (85 percent). Gramm, a former college economics professor, then defeated the Democrat Victor Morales, like Grover a former school teacher, in the general election.
import tax to, in his view, reduce American dependence on imported oil, raise revenue to cut the deficit, and provide an incentive for independent oil drillers to find new wells. Grover proposed bringing home all American troops from Europe and placing them on the Mexican border from Brownsville, Texas
to San Diego, California
. He believes the military is needed to prevent illegal immigration to the United States
and drug smuggling.
On abortion
, Grover said, "I'm 100 percent pro-life." He said that abortion
should be outlawed under all circumstances, even when the mother was raped: "As sad as those situations are, it's not that child's fault", he said. Speaking at Baylor University
in Waco, Grover said that the most feminine thing a woman can do is give birth, adding that perhaps college-age women could not understand the full meaning of abortion. Grover also said that he agreed with the 1996 government shutdowns, saying it was "the only time Congress has faced up to the fact that the nation is bankrupt". He applauded those freshmen Republicans in Congress (1995–1996) who did not waver and who demanded that the government stop reckless spending.
His eldest son, Bernard D. Grover, who graduated from St. Thomas High School, is known for his activism with the Convention Pro-Continuation of 1861, a moderate group devoted to Texas independence using the federal courts and Texas history and law. Grover was a member of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston. He was cremated
.
"My husband was not a politician. He was a statesman. His wonderful integrity worked against him in the political process ... I just try to put all the politics out of my mind", Mrs. Grover said.
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
politician from the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
best known for his relatively narrow defeat as the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
gubernatorial nominee in 1972. Grover was born in Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
. He died in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.
Grover lived as a youth in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. A Roman Catholic, he graduated from the college-preparatory and all-male St. Thomas High School in Houston. He received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of St. Thomas
University of St. Thomas (Houston)
The University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, United States is a comprehensive Catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts...
and his Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in the same subjects from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. His master's thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
was on Colonel Edward M. House of Houston, a Democrat active in the campaign to elect Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
as the U.S. President.
1972 gubernatorial run
Grover was elected to the Texas House of RepresentativesTexas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
in 1960, 1962, and 1964 as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. In 1966, he switched parties and was elected to the District 15
Texas Senate, District 15
District 15 of the Texas Senate is a senatorial district that currently serves a portion of Harris county in the U.S. state of Texas. The current Senator from District 15 is John Whitmire.-2006:-2002:-2000:-1996:...
of the Texas State Senate. In the 1972 Republican gubernatorial primary, Grover led a field of five with 37,118 votes (32.6 percent). Houston businessman Albert Bel Fay
Albert Bel Fay
Albert Bel Fay, Sr. , was a wealthy Texas and Louisiana businessman, United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, and a Republican Party activist whose political involvement began with the presidential campaign of Dwight D...
ran second with 24,329 ballots (21.3 percent). Three other largely unknown candidates shared a surprisingly large 41.8 percent of the vote.
In an even lower turnout runoff primary, Grover defeated Fay (1913–1992), the Republican national committeeman from Texas (1960–1969). Grover received 37,842 votes (66.4 percent), some 700 more votes than he received in the first primary, to Fay's 19,166 (33.6 percent), or 5,000 fewer votes than he obtained in the primary. The Sharpstown bank scandal, which had damaged many of the state's Democratic leaders, worked to Grover's advantage, for he could depict himself as an untainted Republican nominee for governor. His uncompromising conservative, constitutionalist views may have hurt him among moderate voters in both parties.
Grover lost the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
by almost exactly 100,000 votes to the Democratic nominee, former state Representative Dolph Briscoe, Jr.
Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe, Jr. was a Uvalde, Texas rancher and businessman who was the 41st Governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979....
, of Uvalde
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...
. Grover carried almost all of the state's urban centers. The final tally was 1,633,493 (47.9 percent) for Briscoe and 1,533,986 (45 percent) for Grover. Briscoe was a "minority governor" because he failed to garner a simple majority of the votes. The Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
La Raza
La Raza
In the Spanish language the term Raza translates to "race". Its meaning varies amongst various Spanish-speaking peoples. For instance, in Spain, "Raza" may denote specifically Spanish and often of a something or someone of a European Christian heritage. The Francoist film Raza, from 1944, which...
candidate, then 29-year-old Ramsey Muñiz, received 214,118 votes (6 percent), nearly all believed to have been at Briscoe's expense. (Two other minor candidates shared 27,994 votes, or 0.8 percent.) Muñiz's support was insufficient to deny victory to Briscoe, but political analysts contend that Briscoe's margin was largely dependent on Hispanic voters in rural areas of south Texas who traditionally stuck with their Democratic nominees.
Grover's Catholicism was apparently not an issue with Texas voters. Had he been elected, he would have become the first Catholic governor of the State of Texas. Many believed that Texas had supported Republican Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
in 1928 because opponent Alfred E. Smith was Catholic. Texas, however, had voted in 1960 for John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, the nation's first Catholic president.
On the direction of GOP
Grover and Republican Senator John G. Tower disagreed over the focus of the GOP. Grover wanted the party to move in a populistPopulism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
direction to attract those who had previously favored Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., for president and combine those otherwise traditionally Democratic voters with the Republican base, consisting mostly of fiscal conservatives. Tower favored a different approach to expand the party by attracting middle-of-the-roaders who stressed "good government" and those with economically conservative views. Tower and Grover nearly came to fisticuffs in the 1972 campaign when Ernest Angelo
Ernest Angelo
Ernest Angelo, Jr., known as Ernie Angelo , is a Texas oilman and Republican politician who served from 1972–1980 as mayor of the West Texas city of Midland and was in 1976 the co-manager of the Ronald W...
, the new mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Midland
Midland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
, tried to get the two to work out their differences. The bitterness persisted. While Grover lost his race to Briscoe, Tower was a relatively easy winner for a third term in the Senate over Democrat Harold "Barefoot" Sanders, a former federal judge. The Grover approach appeared to have been vindicated with the 1976 primary victory of former California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Ronald W. Reagan in the first Texas GOP presidential primary in which voters chose the delegates. Indeed, Grover supported Reagan in 1976 over Tower's choice, the late U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Tower's approach was, however, consistent with the later successes in Texas of the two George Bushes. In his 1991 autobiography, Tower referred to Grover in only one paragraph.
1984 U.S. Senate campaign
Tower announced in the summer of 1983 that he would not seek a fifth term. Grover, who had disagreed with Tower on many issues, therefore, entered the Republican primary held in May 1984. He fared poorly in that race. In the first primary, Republicans nominated Congressman Phil Gramm of College Station, another convert to the GOP. Also seeking the 1984 Senate nomination were Robert Mosbacher, Jr.Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Adam Mosbacher, Jr. is a Houston businessman and is the former head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation , a US government agency aimed at promoting development by working with the private sector. Nominated by President George W. Bush, Mr...
, of Houston, son of later U.S. Secretary of Commerce Robert A. Mosbacher, and conservative-to-libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
Congressman Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
of the district southwest of Houston. Gramm in turn defeated the Democratic nominee, then state Senator and later U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Doggett
Lloyd Alton Doggett II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He previously represented from 1995 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, and went on to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate.
Challenging the "Johnson law"
Grover's reputation as a gadfly to the establishment surfaced again in 1995. As a private citizen, he sued the Texas Republican Party on the grounds that an elections rule, approved by the legislature in 1960, which permits a person to run for the White House and another office at the same time, is unconstitutional. He sued then party chairman, the conservative Thomas PaukenThomas Pauken
Thomas Weir Pauken is a Dallas, Texas, lawyer and author who served as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 1994–1997 during the transition period when the party leaped from minority to majority status in the state. A staunch conservative, Pauken lost two tight races for U.S...
to prevent Gramm from filing for both offices in 1996.
"It violates the spirit of representative government in the Texas Constitution," Grover said in his lawsuit, filed at 126th State District Court in Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
.
The rule, named for Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, allows a candidate to seek the presidency or the vice presidency and another office in the same election cycle. It was written in 1960 so that then U.S. Senator Johnson could run for re-election to the Senate as well as for president or vice president if he secured a national Democratic nomination. The Johnson rule was since used by former U.S. Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr., who ran for reelection in 1988 and was also the 1988 Democratic nominee for vice president. Several other states, including Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
with Senator Joseph Lieberman in 2000 and Delaware with Senator Joseph Biden in 2008, also permit presidential and vice presidential candidates to seek other offices at the same time, usually the U.S. Senate being the preferred choice.
Former Republican Senator Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
may have benefited from the rule as well had he won his party's presidential nomination in 1996, but he withdrew from the presidential race even before the New Hampshire primary. Grover's suit went nowhere: the Johnson rule remains in effect in Texas.
1996 Republican Senate primary
Grover's filing of the suit could have been motivated too by his own decision to challenge Gramm for renomination in the 1996 Republican senatorial primary. Though he won the support of some Second AmendmentSecond Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
groups, Grover finished last in the three-man primary, with just 72,400 votes (7.34 percent). David Young, who termed himself "more moderate" than Gramm, finished second with 75,463 (7.65 percent). Gramm polled 838,339 (85 percent). Gramm, a former college economics professor, then defeated the Democrat Victor Morales, like Grover a former school teacher, in the general election.
Political philosophy
The 1996 campaign offered a glimpse into Grover's later political views, largely compatible to those of former Republican presidential contender Patrick J. Buchanan. Grover proposed a $10-a-barrel oilOil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
import tax to, in his view, reduce American dependence on imported oil, raise revenue to cut the deficit, and provide an incentive for independent oil drillers to find new wells. Grover proposed bringing home all American troops from Europe and placing them on the Mexican border from Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. He believes the military is needed to prevent illegal immigration to the United States
Illegal immigration to the United States
An illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
and drug smuggling.
On abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, Grover said, "I'm 100 percent pro-life." He said that abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
should be outlawed under all circumstances, even when the mother was raped: "As sad as those situations are, it's not that child's fault", he said. Speaking at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in Waco, Grover said that the most feminine thing a woman can do is give birth, adding that perhaps college-age women could not understand the full meaning of abortion. Grover also said that he agreed with the 1996 government shutdowns, saying it was "the only time Congress has faced up to the fact that the nation is bankrupt". He applauded those freshmen Republicans in Congress (1995–1996) who did not waver and who demanded that the government stop reckless spending.
Obituary
Until his death, Grover resided in Houston with his wife, Kathleen D. Grover, the mother of his three sons and three daughters. The Grovers married in 1952. Prior to entering politics, Grover was a history and civics teacher at Houston's Lamar Senior High School.His eldest son, Bernard D. Grover, who graduated from St. Thomas High School, is known for his activism with the Convention Pro-Continuation of 1861, a moderate group devoted to Texas independence using the federal courts and Texas history and law. Grover was a member of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston. He was cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
.
"My husband was not a politician. He was a statesman. His wonderful integrity worked against him in the political process ... I just try to put all the politics out of my mind", Mrs. Grover said.
1996
1972
External links
- Grover's eulogy introduced into the Congressional RecordCongressional RecordThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
by Ralph HallRalph HallRalph Moody Hall is a United States Representative from . First elected in 1980, Hall is the chairman of the Science Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee... - http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=9223
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/mqs1.html
- http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe
- http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/95/12/06/lbj.html
- http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/aol-metropolitan/96/01/18/notebook.html
Source
- Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections
- http://www.legacy.com/NYTIMES/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=16149533