Billy Jack Goes to Washington is the 1977 third part of the "Billy Jack" trilogy about a half-Native American/half-Caucasian ex-Green Beret trying to make the world a better place. Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) has been sent to prison, but finds himself unexpectedly pardoned by Gov. Hubert Hopper (Dick Gautier). The governor and Senator Joseph Paine (E.G. Marshall) want a populist figure to bring in the youth vote to the party. They devise Billy's release so that he can take over the Senate seat of the previous Senator who suddenly dies after investigating the nuclear industry. Billy wins the nomination and election, and hopes to bring his trademark integrity to Washington. He soon finds the nation's capital to be full of bureaucrats and politicians taking payoffs. With the help of politico Saunders McArthur (Lucie Arnaz), he makes an impassioned plea for ending corruption. Tom Laughlin also wrote and directed this political drama, based on the popular classic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."moreless
