Bill Ratliff
A Profile of Courage and Leadership in American Politics
By (author) Robert Edward Sterken
Publication date:
21 November 2016Length of book:
218 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498546935
Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff is an engineer, a widely respected senator, and according to Caroline Kennedy he is “an inspiration to all who serve in government, and to all Americans.” Senator Ratliff, nicknamed “Obi Wan Kenobi” by his colleagues, was a revered and much loved leader in Texas for more than a decade. He singularly wrote the Texas Robin-Hood school finance law, a major Ethics reform law, a Texas tort reform law, and held a great disdain for narrow partisanship and politics. This is the inspirational story of a great man doing good work in a time when many are cynical about political leadership and government. His courageous stand on principle brought him to a showdown with powerful forces in the Bush White House and earned him the public vitriol of right-wing billionaires.
Bill Ratliff is an inspiration to all who serve in government, and to all Americans, for his principled and bipartisan leadership, and his willingness to make the difficult and unpopular decisions necessary for good governance. Bill Ratliff showed great courage when he put his long and distinguished career of service at risk for the principle of fair and democratic elections which are the heart and soul of a successful democracy. [He] has demonstrated political courage worthy of our gratitude.