I was delighted to learn that one of the Profile in Courage awards for 2005 was awarded today to Sen. Bill Ratliff (R-retired) of Texas for his principled stand against Tom DeLay's Texas re-redistricting scheme.
From the Kennedy Library's announcement:
Bill Ratliff, former Texas Lt. Governor and state senator, was honored for a distinguished career as a courageous bipartisan leader in his state. Senator Ratliff's most recent act of courage was to fight for a fair and democratic electoral process, becoming the only Republican legislator to object to his party's redistricting plan. This principled action was the culmination of a distinguished career in Texas politics.
Sen. Ratliff is a true statesman, an admirable man who understands the true meaning of public service. He was driven from office after the 2003 session because his stance against redistricting left him without Republican support in Texas.
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually to public servants who have withstood strong opposition to follow what they believe is the right course of action.
It's actually rather apt that Sen. Ratliff should be honored during this particular, nuclear, week because the actions of the Republican Texas Senate, specifically of the President of the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov David Dewhurst, echo the current rule-breaking going on in Washington this week.
When Texas Republicans announced plans to draw new district lines in Texas for the second time since the 2000 census, Senator Ratliff broke ranks with his party and opposed the redistricting plan. As the sole dissenting Republican, Ratliff nearly derailed his party's efforts to pass it. Ratliff's vote denied the GOP the two-thirds majority it needed to carry out the plan. But Ratliff's action led Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to
abandon the two-thirds rule, which prompted eleven Democrats to flee the state to New Mexico, where they remained for weeks in order to deprive Senate Republicans of a quorum.
Anticipating Dewhurst's decision, Ratliff said, "It is a serious mistake, because if that should happen, the Texas legislature will slide down that slope of a completely partisan operation on both sides."
(Emphasis mine)
Sen. Ratliff was absolutely correct, of course, as the current session's partisanship attests. House Speaker Tom Craddick (DeLay's partner in crime in redistricting and other shenanigans) did not even bother to appoint a Democrat to either of the committees reconciling the two major pieces of legislation from the session, education financing and taxes.
It's a shame that doing the right thing has to be so courageous these days, but congratulations to Sen. Ratliff for the well-deserved honor! And may other Republican senators be filled with similar courage in the coming days....