Bullock Tales Corralled in McNeely Biography

Retrieved from Statesman.com

Dave McNeely has completed his political biography of Bob Bullock, the rough-edged late lieutenant governor of Texas, and it’s rich with tales — including a recap of the night Bullock sat across from a reporter at Scholz Garden after placing a gun on the table between them.

As the book recaps, quoting from reporter Sam Kinch’s own earlier book: “I sometimes get so mad at you that I want to shoot you,” Bullock told Kinch. “I just wanted you to know that.”

McNeely, the longtime political columnist for the Austin American-Statesman, teamed with Jim Henderson, a veteran journalist whose Texas career included investigative work for the Dallas Times-Herald, to write “Bob Bullock, God Bless Texas.” It’ll be in bookstores in February.

Bullock’s reaction to getting denied Texas Senate confirmation as a member of the State Insurance Board in the early 1970s proves one of many dramatic elements in the book.

Ultimately, the book underscores how Bullock ruled — the good, the bad and the ugly. It also underscores substantial achievements otherwise likely forgotten — including Bullock’s push as secretary of state for a change in law permitting college students away from home to vote in their college towns.