Reply #4: I don't know why this point hasn't been brought up earlier. [View All]

[no_hypocrisy]

In Texas, the governorship is an office that is mostly leadership and doesn't exact a lot of duties to the state.

As opposed to the Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board.

Under the provisions of the Texas constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Texas Senate. By the rules of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice. The Lieutenant Governor decides all questions of parliamentary procedure in the Senate. He or she also has broad discretion in following Senate procedural rules.

The Lieutenant Governor is an ex officio member of several statutory bodies. These include the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit Committee, the Legislative Board and Legislative Council, which have considerable sway over state programs, the budget and policy. The Lieutenant Governor is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board (together with the Speaker of the House, Attorney General, Comptroller, and Land Commissioner), which is charged with adopting a redistricting plan for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial census if the Legislature fails to do so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas

When * was governor of Texas, he didn't do much except approve of laws that were drafted and voted on by others. He approved executions. He did fundraising. But ironically it was Rick Perry as Lieutenant Governor who did more work than *.

On the TX governor's website by contrast, here are the duties of the Governor:

The governor makes policy recommendations that lawmakers in both the state House and Senate chambers may sponsor and introduce as bills. The governor also appoints the Secretary of State, as well as members of boards and commissions who oversee the heads of state agencies and departments.

The constitutional and statutory duties of the Governor include:

Signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislature.
Serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
Convening special sessions of the Legislature for specific purposes.
Delivering a report on the condition of the state to the Legislature at the beginning of each regular session.
Estimating of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation.

Accounting for all public monies received and paid out by him and recommending a budget for the next two years.
Granting reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and revoking conditional pardons.
Declaring special elections to fill vacancies in certain elected offices.

Appointing qualified Texans to state offices that carry out the laws and direct the policies of state government. Some of these offices are filled by appointment only. Others are ordinarily elected by the people, but the governor must occasionally appoint individuals to fill vacancies. The governor also appoints Texans to a wide range of advisory bodies and task forces that assist him with specific issues.

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/about/duties/

Texas is a state that has relatively few duties bestowed upon its governor. Perry can't take credit for doing too much of anything under the circumstances.