4. Texas is not a weak governor state. A common misconception. It used to be true, but during his historic governorship, Perry has reinvented the office as a power center. This may be his greatest accomplishment. Yes, our state constitution, written the year before Reconstruction ended, created a weak governors office (as did most constitutions of the states of the former Confederacy). We had two-year terms (the Legislature changed it to four-year terms beginning with the 1974 election) and a fragmented executive department with power divided among the governor, the lieutenant governor, the comptroller, the land and agriculture commissioners, the attorney general, and the railroad commission. But Perry has used his appointment power to install political allies in every state agency, effectively establishing a Cabinet form of government and making him vastly more powerful than any of his predecessors.Gaffes & debate performances aside, Rick Perry knows how to exercise the power of the Executive. He is vastly more suited to it than any of the current candidates. If you're basing your decision about Perry on a weak Texas Governorship, you're making a mistake.
Yeah, a knee jerk executive order mandating gardasil has more in common with Obama than conservatism.
Nice spin. The only thing that changed Constitutionally in Texas was that Perry has been able to serve so long. He still has little control over the budget process as compared to the Lt. Governor.
Perry has a long way to go to recoup if he’s going to be a factor in the primaries. But it’s fun to watch those that say he’s toast, done, gone, an idiot, etc., spend so much time pounding and pontificating on a failed candidate. They must still be afraid of him or think he still has the potential to win or else they’d spend their time destorying someone higher in the polls. Interesting to say the least.