Senate Career
Firmly ensconced in Washington, Bentsen was overwhelmingly re-elected to the Senate in 1976, 1982, and 1988. He defeated sitting Republican congressmen from safe House seats in all four of his Senate elections, including Bush in 1970. In 1976, he ended the career of Alan Steelman of Dallas. In 1982, he defeated James M. Collins of Dallas, who had first dispatched the strongly conservative State Senator Walter Mengden of Houston in the Republican primary. In 1988, he defeated Beau Boulter of Amarillo. Bentsen was also on the ballot as the Democratic vice presidential nominee that year; he could seek both offices under the 1960 "Johnson law" in Texas.
Bentsen's early reputation as a conservative evolved as his voting record developed and the nation's political climate shifted rightward. His support for abortion rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and civil rights was balanced by his endorsement of public school prayer, capital punishment, tax cuts, and deregulation of industry. He generally supported business interests in the arena of economic policy and swiftly rose to become a power to be reckoned with on the Senate Finance Committee. He came to be viewed as a moderate Democrat.
By the 1980s, Bentsen's relationship with Texas liberals had improved in the face of the growing strength of the Texas Republican Party and as the memory of his defeat of Ralph Yarborough faded. Many liberals came to credit his support of civil rights and equal rights for women, abortion rights, and economic development along the Mexican border. Bentsen provided crucial support for President Carter's arms control efforts and ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty. He passed legislation improving access to health care for low income women and children and many provisions of law conserving natural areas across the state. Despite strong industry support for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, he voted against it. In 1991 he opposed the Iraq War Resolution which provided President George H. W. Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq.
When Bentsen was up for reelection in 1982, he played a significant role in electing the most liberal slate of statewide officials in living memory by leading a unified Democratic campaign and tapping his substantial campaign funds for a sophisticated get-out-the-vote effort.
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