POLITICAL BRIEFING

TEXAS TUSSLE: Politics was never meant to be genteel, but the Texas gubernatorial race may set a new standard in the era of blitzkrieg negative campaigns.

Republican Clayton W. Williams Jr. has been hammering away at Democrat Ann Richards since mid-June. The scathing tone he uses in calling her an “East-Hollywood Democrat” suggests that, in Texas at least, it is meant to be less than complimentary. The epithet refers to Richards’ having accepted a campaign contribution from the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee, whose membership includes Jane Fonda.

Evangelical activists tied to the Williams campaign led an effort at the state Republican convention to have Richards named an “honorary lesbian,” apparently because she decided to back repeal of Texas’ law against sodomy. Although the convention never took up the proposal, it received wide publicity.

Richards’ aides call front-runner Williams “Andrew Dice Clayton.” Last week, Richards’ press releases called Williams a wheeler-dealer, but many Democrats worry that she is firing Ping-Pong balls in return for howitzer shells.

AFTER THE FALL: Despite being reprimanded by his House colleagues for his relationship with a male prostitute, Rep. Barney Frank’s chances for reelection don’t seem to be in serious jeopardy.

Political experts point out that the Massachusetts Democrat’s toughest Republican opponent recently took himself out of the race. Although Frank’s popularity is said to have suffered in his suburban Boston district, the five-term liberal--who won with more than 70% of the vote in 1988--still has considerable support.

Reading the tea leaves for Republican Sen. David Durenberger, whom the Senate “denounced”--a more onerous punishment--for improper financial dealings, is more difficult to do. Durenberger has four years to rehabilitate himself before facing reelection in 1994, but one key Democratic strategist cited the lofty standards of politics in Durenberger’s state: “In Minnesota, I’d use a skeleton in the closet, even if it was 20 years old.”

DOIN’ RIGHT?: White House relations with conservative groups, already strained by President Bush’s reversal of his opposition to tax hikes, were further damaged by last week’s ouster of R. Douglas Wead, who was Bush’s liaison to the party’s right wing.

Infuriated conservatives say that Wead was forced to leave because he opposed inviting gay rights leaders to the White House for the signing of “hate crimes” legislation last April.

“The President has severed his ties to the movement that put Ronald Reagan in the White House,” said Richard A. Viguerie, the conservative direct-mail specialist. Brent Bozell, executive director of the Conservative Victory Committee, said the dismissal of Wead underscores Bush’s attitude toward conservatives: “He doesn’t want us. He doesn’t need us.”

FREE TUITION: Determined to find new approaches in the post-Reagan era, conservatives have a plan to offer diligent, low-income students tuition-free education at state universities.

The brainchild of self-made oil millionaire Pat Taylor of Louisiana, the scheme has already been adopted in that state as well as Texas, Florida, New Mexico and Indiana.

Grantees must have C-plus averages in college-preparatory high school courses and must stay in the top half of their college classes. The income ceiling is $25,000 for a family with one child.