Texas Governor Rick Perry
Is being recruited big time to run for president.
We have been hearing from pundits for
weeks about the possibility of Gov. Perry running for President. Being from
Texas what I'm hearing from Texas voters is Texans either adore him or can't
stand him.
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With Governor Perry the voters would get a skilled politician with the
looks of a movie star or TV personality, the charm of a Texas gentleman a
Southern preacher's oratory with a cowboy's swagger, matched by a disarming
candor and sense of humor.
However before everyone gets whipped up about
Governor Perry's record they should know a little about the system of governing
in Texas.
The success of Texas is not solely because Rick Perry is Governor, he gets some
of the credit but, not all. Texans have known this forever it's taught in
school. Media trotted out
Bush's cooperation
with a Democrat Lt. Governor, he had no choice that's the way the Texas
Constitution is set up. Texas was a nation and has it's own constitution.
Compared to the U.S. President or the chief executives of other states, the Texas Governor occupies a "weak" office. be### See video below..
http://youtu.be/TNSloevv56M
The main source of the relative weakness of the Texas Governor can be found in the historical conditions surrounding the Texas Constitution of 1876. Mindful of the experience of Reconstruction - the period after the Civil War when Republican governors wielded extensive executive powers and were resisted by conservative elites in the state - the authors of the new constitution sought to rein in future governors. They did so by dispersing power that might otherwise be lodged in the chief executive's hands among a vast array of independently elected officials. Broad powers over the legal system, state budget and finances, education, transportation, agriculture, public utilities, and land development are delegated to officials who need not share the policies nor even be of the same political party as the governor.
Compared to the U.S. President or the chief executives of other states, the Texas Governor occupies a "weak" office. be### See video below..
http://youtu.be/TNSloevv56M
The main source of the relative weakness of the Texas Governor can be found in the historical conditions surrounding the Texas Constitution of 1876. Mindful of the experience of Reconstruction - the period after the Civil War when Republican governors wielded extensive executive powers and were resisted by conservative elites in the state - the authors of the new constitution sought to rein in future governors. They did so by dispersing power that might otherwise be lodged in the chief executive's hands among a vast array of independently elected officials. Broad powers over the legal system, state budget and finances, education, transportation, agriculture, public utilities, and land development are delegated to officials who need not share the policies nor even be of the same political party as the governor.
The dispersal of power
among different officials creates what is often called the plural executive. Unlike the federal
system, where the cabinet secretaries and the other top executive officers
serve at the pleasure of the President, the voters elect the corresponding
officials in the Texas system, giving the Governor no direct authority over
them.
It is not surprising that the design of Texas government got
thoroughly washed in the spin cycles of the 2000 election. Bush's supporters
played up his cooperation with Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock and
his successes in the areas of tax reduction and education. Bipartisan
leadership on these issues, his supporters argued, would also be the mark of a
Bush presidency. His opponents pointed out the limitations placed on Texas
governors, calling into question both the extent of Bush's experience and
whether he really deserved credit for the policy initiatives trumpeted by his
supporters. The Governor occupies a weak
office, the critics claimed, whose success really depends on others, such as
the Lieutenant Governor
- The Governor is taking credit for successes he only appears to play an
important role in achieving.
You need to look at the constitutional and legal arrangements
that limit the Governor, and the ways in which governors have responded to
these limits. The constitutional definition of the governor's office is
undeniably weaker than in almost all other states. Throughout this section, we
compare the Texas governor's powers with those of other governors and of the
U.S. President, and find the Texas Governor with fewer resources. Yet despite
the office's weaknesses, throughout Texas history, successful governors have
found ways to exercise political power and promote their policies from this
relatively weak office. We will focus on the office of the governor, then will
briefly examine the other parts of the executive branch that also exercise
influence over the lives of Texans.
For recent approval ratings of the Texas Governor based on the
results of polling by the Texas Politics project and the Department of
Government at the University of Texas at Austin, see the links in the feature
box on the right side of the page. For more information on and from this
research polling, see the "Polling"
chapter of Texas Politics.)
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