George Joseph Despot (January 28, 1927 -- February 14, 1991) was a Shreveport businessman and a pioneer in the establishment of a competitive Republican Party in Louisiana. He was the state Republican chairman from 1978-1985. His leadership began when the state party was so small that there was a standing joke that the Louisiana GOP could operate out of a phone booth. January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shreveport, Louisiana is the third largest metropolitan city in the state of Louisiana, USA. It is located in Caddo Parish, and as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 200,145. ... GOP redirects here. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... GOP redirects here. ...

Despot was born in Shreveport to George G. Despot (1898-1969) and Katherine "Katie" Despot (1901-1977). The Despots were Catholic and Croatian, and they came to the United States under an "Old World" arranged marriage. There were trials in the home and more than one separation. 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

George Despot's daughter, Rebecca A. Despot, who resides in Aspen, Colorado, reflected on her paternal grandparents: "My grandfather and his brother had a restaurant in Shreveport called "the Columbia," [which was] open 24 hours a day. . . . It became the businessman's hangout in town. When [one sees] old pictures of Shreveport, there are always pictures of the Columbia. They sent Daddy to school when he was three because they did not know [that] they were not supposed to send him so early." View south along Galena Street in downtown Aspen. ...

For a time, young George Despot attended a Catholic high school in New Orleans. Despot graduated from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, and the Louisiana State University Law School in Baton Rouge. New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Not to be confused with the University of Notre Dame Australia University of Notre Dame du Lac The University of Notre Dame (standard name; full legal name University of Notre Dame du Lac) is a Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located in Notre Dame, Indiana, USA adjacent to the... Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates: County St. ... Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. ... Capitol Building Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. ...

Despot earned his living in the oil and natural gas business as the owner of Despot Explorations, Inc.

Despot's tenure as state chairman

Despot's political interest mushroomed with the gubernatorial candidacy of Shreveporter Charlton H. Lyons, Sr., in 1964. Lyons waged the first well-financed Republican campaign in modern Louisiana history but fell far short of victory. The winner was Democrat John McKeithen. A governor is an official who heads the government of a colony, state or other sub-national state unit. ... Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... John Julian McKeithen (May 28, 1918 -- June 4, 1999), a Democrat from the tiny town of Columbia in Caldwell Parish in northeastern Louisiana, was the first governor of his state to serve two consecutive terms. ...

Despot himself ran for office two years later -- he lost a race for the Caddo Parish Police Jury on November 8, 1966. The police jury, now know as the Caddo Parish Commission, is the parish's governing legislative body. November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

In 1976, Despot was first elected by his fellow Caddo Parish party members from District 33, to the Republican State Central Committee. Two years later he was named chairman by committee members.

As state chairman, Despot demanded that party organizations call caucuses to endorse one specific candidate in races in which more than one Republican filed for office. This was necessary to prevent GOP candidates from diluting their strength. Otherwise, none might poll enough primary votes even to make the ballot in the general election under Louisiana's unique jungle primary law, in which all candidates regardless of party affiliation run on the same ballot. Then the two top votegetters, assuming that no one secured a numerical majority in the primary, meet in the general election, popularly called a "runoff." A general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. ... In the jungle primary, all candidates run in the same initial election regardless of party label. ...

When challenged about endorsements in a 1980 party caucus in Bossier City, Despot thundered: Bossier City is a city located in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. ...

"The party endorsement is worth a great deal. Some voters will not have a chance to meet either candidate. Without party endorsement, they might not vote for either Republican. I will enforce party discipline with an iron hand across this state. If the chair refuses to call a caucus, I will remove the Political Action Council chairwoman."

Despot noted that his party could not realistically contest all offices on the ballot: "There are just some [legislative] districts in the state where there is little opportunity for a Republican to get elected." This pick-and-choose approach was not conducive to rapid growth for the GOP. In fact, it contributed to the partisan complexion of the legislature remaining largely unchanged even when Treen was elected governor in 1979.

Louisiana GOP removes Despot as chairman

Despot was removed as chairman in 1985 by a group of supporters of former Governor David C. Treen (1980-1984), though it was unclear how involved Treen was in the plot against Despot. David Conner Treen, Sr. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

George Despot encountered opposition from conservative groups that flocked to the Republican Party over social issues, such as abortion and opposition to homosexual preferences. In 1988, Despot even lost his own seat on the GOP central committee when supporters of the presidential candidate, the evangelist Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson of Virginia, captured a third of the 144 seats on the committee. Despot wrote a prophetic internal memo at the time in which he warned that the Robertson forces wanted "to take control of the state Republican party." Beyond support of Robertson, the overriding issue was abortion. To Louisiana party loyalists, such as Despot, most of whom already opposed abortion, the challenge from the Robertson forces brought intraparty upheaval, which led to disastrous Republican election results in Louisiana in 1991 and 1992. American conservatism is a constellation of political ideologies within the United States under the blanket heading of conservative. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Marion Gordon Pat Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is a televangelist from the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,793 sq mi (110,862 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 7. ...

According to Rebecca Despot, an unnamed aide to then U.S. Senator John Breaux told her that the outcome of Louisiana elections "right after my father was ousted would have been different had he still been the chairman. I don't think people understand the passion he felt about what he was doing and that he was a man with a mission. They took his mission away, and people will never know what that did to him." John Berlinger Breaux (last name pronounced Bro) (born March 1, 1944) was a United States Senator from Louisiana from 1987 until 2005. ...

Republicans assess Despot's record

Fellow Republicans throughout the state mourned Despot's passing. Then Chairman William "Billy" Nungesser (September 30, 1929 -- January 21, 2006) of Belle Chasse in Plaquemines Parish said that Despot's political savvy, his close relationship with President George Herbert Walker Bush, and his ability to raise campaign funds would be missed by the Louisiana GOP. William A. Billy Nungesser (September 30, 1929 -- January 21, 2006), was a gravelly-voiced, chain-smoking, and often combative leader of the Republican Party in the traditionally Democratic state of Louisiana during much of the latter twentieth century. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Belle Chasse is a census-designated place located in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. ... Plaquemines Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. ... George H. W. Bush - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Then Caddo Republican Chairman Reginald Hargrove said that the party members "all owe him a debt of gratutide." According to Hargrove, Despot had encouraged local GOP factions to mend their differences in preparation for the 1991 state and parish elections and the 1992 national elections. "He had been telling people to go out and work with us," Hargrove added. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

Despot's last political role (in 1987) was as advisor to Fourth Congressional District Republican chairman Ken Frazier in Frazier's unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Frazier lost to the Democrat Roy McArthur "Hoppy" Hopkins of Oil City. "George was the old master. There have been differences within the party, but they had nothing to do with personal relationships. He's been a friend to everybody, and everybody will grieve for him," said Frazier. Roy McArthur Hoppy Hopkins (June 10, 1943 -- November 23, 2006) was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, having represented District 1 in northern Caddo Parish and two precincts in northern Bossier Parish from 1988 until his Thanksgiving Day death after a long illness of bone cancer. ... Oil City is a town located in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. ...

State Representative Arthur W. "Art" Sour, Jr., (1924-2000) of Shreveport, who served from 1972-1992, said that he always found his fellow Catholic Despot to be "a good Christian man and a man of principle" despite any political differences that the two may have had. Sour said Despot's passing may bring the factions together. Sour would lose his seat to a Democrat, Melissa Flournoy, just nine months after Despot's death. Arthur W. Art Sour, Jr. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

James Wellborn, chairman of the Bossier Parish Republican Party in the 1970s, said that Despot singlehandedly forged an effective state and local organization when registrars would routinely discourage prospective voters from registering as Republicans. Until the implementation of the jungle primary, registrars constantly told voters that they "would not be able to vote" in most elections unless they were Democrats. Bossier Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. ...

According to Wellborn, Despot also helped to organize a challenge to existing political boundaries in Bossier Parish and secured reapportionment of the local districts despite opposition and harassment from the parish's elites. Despot had a "knack for motivating people, though at times he could make people angry as well. He moved so fast he left a lot of sand in his wake. Some people just got it in their eyes," Wellborn said. Reapportionment is the reallocation of seats in a legislature to the regions from which legislators are elected, following changes in population. ...

Prior to his death, Despot had curtailed much of his local activity because he preferred to concentrate on national and state politics.

The staunchly conservative Nungesser, who himself shocked his party when he endorsed Patrick J. Buchanan for the 1992 Republican nomination, said that Despot was "strong-willed, and had his own strong ideas, but he alwas had what was best for Louisiana at heart." Nungesser, who was in the catering business serving ships, was the only state chairman who did not support the first George Bush in the 1992 primaries. Patrick Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (born November 2, 1938), usually known as Pat Buchanan, is an American conservative journalist and a well known television political commentator. ...

Despot's obituary

Despot was a member of the Shreveport Club and the East Ridge Country Club, and he was an avid golfer.

Despot died after 9 p.m. on Valentine's Day of a blood clot in his lung. He had appeared to have been in good health despite recent minor surgery. "He was fine at five minutes after nine, and then he was gone by 9:25," said Mrs. Despot, the former Pearla Tinsley. "He was feeling great and was looking forward to going back to the golf course," she added.

Graveside services were held on February 16, 1991, at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport. In addition to his wife and daughter Rebecca, Despot was survived by his older daughter, Susan Despot, then of Shreveport and later of New Orleans, and two brothers, Gregory A. Despot and Camille C. Despot.

Honorary pallbearers included U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Stagg, Jr.; former Shreveport city finance commissioner George A. Burton, Jr., who had also lost a police jury election at the same time as Despot; Shreveport businessman Dalton Woods; and Dr. George Belchic, who with his wife Harriet Belchic was another prominent Shreveport Republican activist. Thomas Eaton Tom Stagg, Jr. ...

Despot's death untimely from political standpoint

Within a month of Despot's death, Democratic Governor Charles E. Roemer, III switched his allegiance to the Republican Party. Roemer's switch did not unite the feuding wings of the GOP. Because he supported abortion, the right-to-life contingent of the party rejected Roemer and coalesced around Congressman Clyde C. Holloway of Rapides Parish. But few other Republicans would support Holloway. Holloway did win a preference poll among Republicans attending statewide endorsement caucuses. Also running for governor was the candidate who was anathema to party leaders: State Representative David Duke of Jefferson Parish. When all the smoke had cleared, Duke eliminated Roemer from a general election berth, and Edwin Edwards staged a fourth-term victory over the unpopular Duke. Charles Elson Buddy Roemer, III, was governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992 and a Democratic member of the U.S. House from 1981-1988. ... Clyde Cecil Holloway (born November 28, 1943) is a small businessman from Forest Hill, Louisiana, who was a staunchly conservative Republican congressman from central Louisiana between 1987 and 1993. ... Rapides Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. ... David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is a former Louisiana Republican state representative, and former Imperial Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. ... Jefferson Parish is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. ...

Thereafter, the bottom fell out politically for Despot's favorite, the first President Bush. Challenged from the right by Pat Buchanan and plagued by a troubling economy, Bush failed nationally and in Louisiana as well in the 1992 elections.

Both of those developments would have been especially troubling to George J. Despot had he lived.

Despot's Republican Party papers are in the archives section of Louisiana State University at Shreveport. Louisiana State University of Shreveport (or LSUS) is a branch of the Louisiana State University System in Shreveport, Louisiana. ...

References

Billy Hathorn, "The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980," Master's thesis (1980), Northwestern State University at Natchitoches

Billy Hathorn, email exchange with Rebecca Despot of Colorado, June/July 2006

"GOP Leader Despot, 64, dies," Shreveport Times, February 15, 1991

Despot obituary, Shreveport Times, February 15, 1991

Shreveport Journal, November 9, 1966, August 23, 1979, January 8, 1980

http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=DESPOT&start=41

http://www.lsus.edu/library/archives/guide/coll044.htm

http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=102487

http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1503/Berry/Berry.html