P.J. Lloyd’s Reviews > Means of Ascent > Status Update

(6) but Johnson strategically stalls an investigation from taking place. An Executive Committee is formed to investigate the “potential” fraud, but when a vote is made to proceed or to terminate the investigation, the committee votes to terminate it: 29-28, a 1 vote majority.

(5) So ballot box 13 is counted with 200 additional votes for Johnson and 1 for Stevenson, making Johnson lead ahead of Stevenson by only 87 votes. Stevenson, knowing that the votes were blatantly rigged, is furious and demands a verification and recounting…

(3) and in return a candidate would receive an overwhelming majority in those counties. LBJ had secured the bloc vote when he campaigned for the senate in ‘41, but that wasn’t enough and he lost. In the 1948 senate election, he would go even further…

(2) Most of the towns in these counties were slums with large Mexican and black populations; moreover, they were controlled by corrupt county judges who could manipulate votes to their liking. Throughout the history of Texas campaigning, it was common for candidates to “buy” these southern bloc votes…

(1) LBJ steals the 1948 senate election in what is perhaps the most blatant example of election fraud in the entire history of Texas politics. He does this through his solidifying of the south Texas “bloc vote,” which were votes polled from the southern Texas counties bordering the Rio Grande…

(3) “hello down there! This is Congressman Lyndon Johnson! I’m running for the Senate and would sure like your vote!” Just very funny.

(2) trees and bushes once the helicopter got close because it’s 1948 and these rural Texas farmers have never seen a fucking helicopter before, and because of that were shitting themselves. It also doesn’t help having LBJ’s booming voice blasting on a loudspeaker saying…

(1) Sooo, LBJ campaigns in a helicopter during the 1948 senate race and it’s surprisingly… funny? It’s described as important in context with Texas politics because it allowed him to traverse towns and cities more freely, but there were a lot of very funny anecdotes. One describes how farmers ran behind…

(10) which probably totaled around 100 miles of driving. So yeah, LBJ is kind of a horrible tyrant. Much more tyrannical behavior to come, I reckon.

(9) a slave to him. Kellam would drive LBJ back from the airport constantly, but would often have to wait in his office until LBJ told him when he was leaving. One time there were multiple delays due to bad weather, and Kellam had to drive to Austin airport, then San Antonio airport, and finally Waco airport…