Barn Burning Barn Building: Tales of a Political Life, From LBJ to George W. Bush and Beyond

by Ben Barnes, Lisa Dickey, Robert Strauss (Introduction)

How did the Democratic Party-of JFK, LBJ, and civil rights-fall from glory? How did Texas, home of its most promising players, become Bush territory? What do politicians on either side need to do today to get our country back on track? Ben Barnes has the answers. His political savvy and bravado made him a standout in the rough-and-tumble world of Texas politics. He won a seat in the Texas Legislature in 1960, and four years later he became the youngest speaker of the House since the Civil War. In 1968, he helped Congressman George Herbert Walker Bush get his son into the National Guard-a controversy that would rage during the 2004 presidential election. In 1970, Lyndon Johnson told the public that Ben was destined to be the next U.S. president to hail from Texas. Barnes's rollicking memoir recalls the glory days of his Texas past and blazes a trail for our country's future.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Memoir

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Ben Barnes is a politician.

Reviews

[Jason Stanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling about the last heyday of Texas Democrats.

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben Barnes is a great representative of everything that is wrong with the Democratic Party. Throughout this book, written before Democrats took control of Congress in the 2006 elections, is full of advice to sell out core constituencies and serve business interests at all costs. He insists tht modernation is always the best course, even when it plainly is not: he seems to regret the steps toward civil rights taken in the 1960s (because they alienated much of the South), has never questioned his advocacy of the war in Vietnam, views liberals in his party as a bigger opponent than republicans, and makes half-wit justifications for the obviously unethical business dealings he had while holding office in the state of Texas.

The "solutions" he offers to the modern Democratic Party to regain power are no help at all--basically it boils down to the need for greater bipartisanship--as if the problems our country now faces are the result of Democrats not compromsing enough on bad republican policy. He seems to hold few if any real positions; anything is negotiable. The only reason I do not give it one star is because it has some value to understanding the historical forces that broke up the Texas Democratic Party and led to Republican ascendance. There are also a couple of interesting bits regarding Nixon's use of the SEC to trump up allegations against democrats, and about Barnes' role in getting George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard.

Among the blurbs on the back cover of the book is one claiming that Tom Daschle once called Barnes the 51st democratic senator; if Barnes really is representative of democratic politicans, then it is obvious why democrats have had so much trouble holding on to power.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful memoir of a life spent in Texas politics. Entertaining accounts of Barnes' encounters with Austin legends like Bob Bullock, Frank Erwin, John Connally, and LBJ.