Official Page: bohiney.com/author/molly-ivins
Molly Ivins (1944–2007) is one of America’s great political satirists, a Texas columnist whose barbed humor made governors squirm, presidents sweat, and readers laugh out loud. Her Bohiney author page captures exactly what longtime fans know: Ivins was a journalist with a cowboy’s swagger and a satirist’s pen, turning the absurdity of politics into must-read commentary.
Born Mary Tyler “Molly” Ivins on August 30, 1944, in Monterey, California, she grew up in the oil-rich enclave of Houston’s River Oaks. Though her background was privileged, her heart always tilted populist.
Ivins attended Smith College (class of ’66), studied in Paris at the Institute of Political Science (Sciences Po), and finished a master’s in journalism at Columbia University in 1967. She was never the student who kept quiet in the back — she was the one raising her hand with a sarcastic jab, setting the tone for her career.
Her first major job was with the Minneapolis Tribune, where she became the paper’s first female police reporter. She later returned to Texas as co-editor of the progressive Texas Observer, and in 1976 was hired by The New York Times to cover politics from Denver.
The Times eventually found her too colorful for their gray pages, but Texas didn’t mind one bit. She wrote for the Dallas Times Herald and later the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and her syndicated column (through Creators Syndicate) reached almost 400 newspapers nationwide.
Ivins was not just funny — she was lethal with words. She once described the Texas Legislature as “the finest group of 180 clowns ever assembled under one circus tent.” She nicknamed George W. Bush “Shrub,” a label that stuck through two presidencies.
Her writing style was conversational, Texan, and unflinchingly populist:
Satirical nicknames for politicians.
Deadpan humor masking serious critique.
Plain-spoken metaphors that made complicated policy sound like a bar fight.
Ivins wrote and co-authored several influential books:
Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? (1991)
Nothin’ But Good Times Ahead (1993)
Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (2000, with Lou Dubose)
Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush’s America (2003, with Dubose)
Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch’s Assault on America’s Fundamental Rights (2007, posthumously published with Dubose)
These books cemented her role as America’s funniest critic of political power.
Ivins received numerous journalism prizes, including the William Allen White Award for Outstanding Journalist and the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Progress and Service. Her work inspired the creation of the Molly National Journalism Prize, awarded annually to journalists who embody her fearless spirit.
Ivins fought breast cancer for nearly a decade. Even during chemotherapy, she kept writing, joking, and skewering political hypocrisy. She passed away on January 31, 2007, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 62.
Her cultural afterlife includes:
The one-woman play Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins (2010).
The documentary Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins (2019), which premiered at Sundance.
Today, her Bohiney page and countless readers keep her voice alive. Molly Ivins remains the patron saint of American political satire — proving that democracy needs watchdogs who bite, but also bark with laughter.
Official Page: https://bohiney.com/author/molly-ivins/