Jim Hightower | |
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| 8thAgriculture Commissioner of Texas | |
| In office January 1, 1983 – January 5, 1991 | |
| Governor | Mark White Bill Clements |
| Preceded by | Reagan V. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Rick Perry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Allen Hightower (1943-01-11)January 11, 1943 (age 82) Denison, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of North Texas Columbia University |
| Occupation |
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James Allen Hightower (born January 11, 1943) is an American syndicated columnist,progressive[1][2] political activist, and author.
From 1983 to 1991 he served as the elected commissioner of theTexas Department of Agriculture.
He publishes a monthly newsletter that is notable for its in-depthinvestigative reporting,The Hightower Lowdown.
Born inDenison inGrayson County in northTexas, Hightower comes from a working-class background. He worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the DentonChamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as a management trainee for theU.S. State Department. He received a Bachelor of Arts in government from theUniversity of North Texas inDenton, where he served as student body president. He later did graduate work atColumbia University in New York City in international affairs.
In the late 1960s, he worked in Washington, D.C., as legislative aide toU.S. SenatorRalph Yarborough. In 1970, Hightower co-founded and worked at theAgribusiness Accountability Project in Washington, D.C., which resulted in two of his early books.[3] After managing the presidential campaign of former SenatorFred R. Harris ofOklahoma in 1976, he returned to Texas to become the editor of the magazineThe Texas Observer. His first attempt at public office was an unsuccessful bid for theDemocratic nomination for theTexas Railroad Commission, which regulates theoil and natural gas industries, rather than the railroads the name of the commission would seem to indicate.
In 1982, Hightower was elected Agriculture Commissioner, having unseated fellow DemocratReagan V. Brown, who had ordered a quarantine of fruit coming into Texas from California. He served as agriculture commissioner until he was unseated in 1990 by the Democrat-turned-RepublicanRick Perry, later thegovernor of Texas. His tenure was noted for fosteringorganic production, alternative crops,direct marketing by small farmers, and strong gross materials[clarification needed] regulations.[4][5] During that time, he also became a leading national spokesman for Democrats and endorsedJesse Jackson for president in 1988. Three of Hightower's aides at the Agriculture Commission, Mike Moeller, Pete McRae, and Billie Quicksall, were convicted on bribery charges related to procuring contributions to Hightower's reelection campaign from seed dealers who were subject to the department's oversight. While Hightower was not involved in the plot, it contributed to his defeat by Perry.[6]
During the1992 presidential election, he supported the candidacy of U.S. SenatorTom Harkin ofIowa. After Harkin left the race, Hightower supportedJerry Brown, and cast hissuperdelegate vote forGovernorBill Clinton at the1992 Democratic National Convention.
Soon after Clinton was elected, Hightower became a critic of the president. He criticized Clinton for having acceptedcorporatesoft money contributions, his support ofNAFTA, his health care plan, and his refusal to crack down on "corporate welfare", as well as what Hightower viewed as inadequate efforts at fighting unemployment and poverty.
In 2000, he joined with talk show hostPhil Donahue and actressSusan Sarandon to co-chair the presidential campaign ofRalph Nader. He also appeared at Nader's "super-rallies" and stumped across the country for him.
After the disputed outcome of the2000 election, Hightower voiced the opinion that it was Vice PresidentAl Gore himself, who lost his home state ofTennessee, and not Ralph Nader, who caused Gore's defeat at the hands of GovernorGeorge W. Bush of Texas.[7] Although he issued no endorsement of any candidate during the2004 presidential primaries, he spoke and wrote approvingly of since defeatedU.S. RepresentativeDennis Kucinich ofOhio, calling him a "clear populist with a lifelong history of unambiguous advocacy of populist principles."[8] Once SenatorJohn Kerry ofMassachusetts won the nomination, Hightower endorsed him and urged fellow progressives to work for his election, saying, "I don't care if he's a sack of cement, we're going to carry him to victory."[9] During this election, he also campaigned in support of the U.S. Senate bid of Doris "Granny D" Haddock, a friend and fellow activist who was running as a Democrat against incumbent Republican SenatorJudd Gregg ofNew Hampshire.
Since 1993, Hightower has producedHightower Radio, a daily two-minute commentary carried by over 130 affiliates. He also hosted a weekend talk show on theAmerican Broadcasting Company radio network and a weekday midday talk show on the United Broadcasting Network (later called America Radio Network).Hightower's Chit & Chat aired in thirty-eight markets around the United States.[citation needed]Floyd Domino was his music director[10] and co-host. Susan DeMarco was also a co-host of the program and continues to work with him.[citation needed]
In recent years, Hightower has advocated forindustrial hemp as a sustainable agricultural crop.[citation needed]
Hightower endorsedBernie Sanders for presidentin 2016, actively campaigning for the Democratic candidate.[11] In summer 2016, afterHillary Clinton won the party's nomination, Sanders supporters formed the progressive groupOur Revolution, and Hightower joined the board of directors.[12][13] Despite theDemocratic party losing both houses of Congress in the United States, Hightower talked of his optimism toward a greater progressive revolution after meeting with Sanders.[14] Hightower cited the large number of progressive initiatives passed to counter the idea thatDonald Trump and right-wing populism were supplanting progressive ideals.[15] In addition to being on the national board of Our Revolution, Hightower has been working with Our Revolution Texas.[16]
Hightower writes a nationally syndicated column carried by seventy-five independent weekly newspapers and other publications[17] throughCreators Syndicate.[18] He also writes forThe Progressive Populist.[citation needed]
Hightower writes a monthly newsletter,The Hightower Lowdown,[19] which has more than 135,000 subscribers.[18][17] The newsletter is notable for its in-depthinvestigative reporting and criticism ofGeorge W. Bush's administration, which Hightower claimed was beholden to corporations andextremist conservatives. It has received both the Alternative Press Award and the Independent Press Association Award for best national newsletter.[18]
In January, 2022, Hightower noted his support for theRights of Nature movement. After reviewing some history of the movement, he declared that the initiative to put a state constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot for voters to consider, has made Florida "the epicenter" of today's Rights of Nature movement in the United States.[20]
The "Doug Jones Average", a concept created by Jim Hightower, is the proposal that in order to check the true health of the American economy, it is less useful to look at theDow Jones Industrial Average than it is to check up on how the average worker down the street (Doug Jones) is doing. If Doug Jones is on welfare, cannot feed his family, is blowing his savings, and is three weeks behind on his bills, the Doug Jones average is "down". If Doug just got a raise, can pay his bills and Doug and his family are looking into owning a nice but not too expensive house, the Doug Jones average is "up".[21]
| External videos | |
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 Booknotes interview with Hightower onThere's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos, December 21, 1997,C-SPAN |
The official Jim Hightower Archive is at theWittliff collections of Southwestern Writers,Texas State University,San Marcos, Texas.[24]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forAgriculture Commissioner of Texas 1982, 1986, 1990 | Succeeded by Marvin Gregory |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Texas Agriculture Commissioner 1983–1991 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
