[Newspaper clippings: William's rape joke] Part: 3 of 12
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Williams says joke
Continued from Page 1A.
Williams com-
pared the foul weather to rape.
"If it's inevitable, just relax and
enjoy it"he said.
Mr. Williams later explained
that the comment was meant as a
joke and apologized.
His comments drew an immedi-
ate condemnation from his two
Democratic opponents, Ann Rich-
ards and Jim Mattox, and from
women's organizations, who
charged the Republican with being
insensitive to victims of rape and
other violent crimes.
In his statement Sunday, Mr. Wil-
liams said of his comments, "I feel
just terrible about this.
"Rape is one of the most violent
types of crime we are faced with to-
day and will be met with a firm
hand if I'm elected governor," he
said, adding, "Once again, I apolo-
gize from the bottom of my heart."
Meanwhile, his aides and Repub-
lican Party officials, while saying
his comments were inappropriate,
predicted Sunday that there would
be no long-lasting negative fallout
in the campaign.
Officials from the campaigns of
Ms. Richards and Mr. Mattox
disagreed.
State Rep. Lena Guerrero, D-Aus-
tin, political director for Ms. Rich-
ards' gubernatorial campaign, said
she expects that Mr. Williams' "of-
fensive" remarks will be an issue in
the general election.
"His campaign will say it is a
gaffe and will hope all of us will for-
get," she said. "But this is one that
is difficult to forget.
"Is it a gaffe or is it a way of life
for him?" Ms. Guerrero asked.
Millie Bruner, political director
for Mr. Mattox's campaign, said the"I had no intention in
my heart to hurt
anyone, especially those
women who have been
traumatized by rape."
- Clayton Williams
"insensitive" comments about rape
alone might not have a long-lasting
political impact. But she predicted
that Mr. Williams would make other
damaging statements before the
general election.
Although she acknowledged that
Mr. Williams "didn't say the right
thing and he knows it," Carole
Rylander, a co-chairman for his
campaign, said he is a "quick study"
who probably will avoid future mis-
takes.
"His heart is in the right place,
and he is really hurting today," said
Ms. Rylander after a telephone con-
versation with Mr. Williams, who
was resting at his ranch home in
West Texas.
Texas Republican Party chair-
man Fred Meyer, who acknowl-
edged that the rape comment was
"inappropriate," also came to Mr.
Williams' defense.
Mr. Meyer said the fallout from
the remark "is not a long-term prob-
lem" in Mr. Williams' bid for the
Governor's Mansion.
"Claytie made an inappropriate
comment and he immediately ac-
knowledged it and apologized for
it," the GOP chief said.
"He thought he was making a ca'
sual remark," said Mr. Meyer. "But
when you are running for gover-
nor, there are no casual remarks.
When you say 'good morning' it
means something."was
'insensitive'
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Dallas Times Herald. [Newspaper clippings: William's rape joke], clipping, March 1990; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc915777/m1/3/: accessed May 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.