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The Power of the Texas Governor: Connally to Bush
George W. Bush called it "the best job in the world," yet many would argue that the Texas governorship is a weak office. Given few enumerated powers by the Texas Constitution, the governor must build a successful relationship with the state legislature—sometimes led by a powerful lieutenant governor or speaker of the opposing party—to advance his or her policy agenda. Yet despite the limitations on the office and the power of the legislative branch, many governors have had a significant impact on major aspects of Texas's public life—government, economic development, education, and insurance reform among them. How do Texas governors gain the power to govern effectively? The Power of the Texas Governor takes a fresh look at the state's chief executives, from John Connally to George W. Bush, to discover how various governors have overcome the institutional limitations of the office. Delving into the governors' election campaigns and successes and failures in office, Brian McCall makes a convincing case that the strength of a governor's personality—in particular, his or her highly developed social skills—can translate into real political power. He shows, for example, how governors such as Ann Richards and George W. Bush forged personal relationships with individual legislators to achieve their policy goals. Filled with revealing insights and anecdotes from key players in each administration, The Power of the Texas Governor offers new perspectives on leadership and valuable lessons on the use of power.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
163 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2021
This is a little gem of a book which takes a clear-eyed look at state power, through the lens of the putatively powerless position of Texas governor. At the end of Reconstruction in Texas, the 1876 state constitution purposely limited the governor's authority. He or she (there have been two female governors) could veto whole bills or line-item veto provisions, call the legislature into session, and appoint members to state boards and departments, albeit with 2/3s concurrence of the Senate, but that was about it. Many of the top officials in Texas, from the comptroller to the land commissioner to the attorney general, were and are elected, and the Lieutenant Governor, also elected statewide, has more power over the Senate than the governor. Be that as it may, this book shows that governors can exert power if they use the bully pulpit of the office, threats of vetos and special sessions, and try and make the right appointments. It can make a difference, for state and national politics.
John Connally was a former LBJ aide turned Nixon Treasury Secretary who ran the governor's office for 3 terms, back when those terms were still only two years each. He took his time in the federal government, especially his work with the scientific side of the Navy, to see that Texas needed to beef up its higher education establishment and attract more out-of-state dollars. He created the Higher Education Coordinating Board to start overseeing the state institutions, provided millions to improve faculty pay, and also created both an Office of Economic Development and Tourist Development Agency to attract more outside interest. Some say he stayed in office merely because he hated the Lieutenant Governor, Preston Smith, a placeholder who succeeded him, but who didn't even lay out a legislative agenda in his first state-of-the-state address. Smith mainly built up Texas Tech University with a medical and dental school, as a boon to his home city of Lubbock. He too was succeeded by a placeholder, Dolph Briscoe, a wealthy banker and rancher, from whose ranch Connally had first announced his run, but who regularly let his wife take over press conferences because he was uninterested. Briscoe did, however, demand and then reject a state constitutional convention, and finally helped pass an amendment for four year governor terms.
Future governors, like Ann Richards and George W. Bush, took the full measure of their power and used it. While Richards became a national sensation after her headlining speech at the 1988 DNC (done when she was only state treasurer), she also lost out to legislators who became irritated by her high-handedness. Bush, however, despite his lackadaisical style, made friends with almost every legislator, complimented them on the speeches they made on the floor, and helped push through the four policy reforms he had announced in his campaign against Richards: welfare, education, tort reform, and juvenile crime reform. Of course, along with his aide Karl Rove (who had cut his teeth running Bill Clements's, the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction, campaign in 1978), he parlayed that into a White House run with bipartisan support: the Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bullock, sided with him in his 1998 reelection campaign, and Speaker Pete Laney proudly announced him to the legislature and the world, right after his successful 2000 presidential victory.
Although, like many political books, this one spends too much time on public campaigns and too little on private action, it also understands power and explains how to use it, with both examples and maxims. It's a good book on Texas history, written by a Texas state representative, and a great book on state politics.
John Connally was a former LBJ aide turned Nixon Treasury Secretary who ran the governor's office for 3 terms, back when those terms were still only two years each. He took his time in the federal government, especially his work with the scientific side of the Navy, to see that Texas needed to beef up its higher education establishment and attract more out-of-state dollars. He created the Higher Education Coordinating Board to start overseeing the state institutions, provided millions to improve faculty pay, and also created both an Office of Economic Development and Tourist Development Agency to attract more outside interest. Some say he stayed in office merely because he hated the Lieutenant Governor, Preston Smith, a placeholder who succeeded him, but who didn't even lay out a legislative agenda in his first state-of-the-state address. Smith mainly built up Texas Tech University with a medical and dental school, as a boon to his home city of Lubbock. He too was succeeded by a placeholder, Dolph Briscoe, a wealthy banker and rancher, from whose ranch Connally had first announced his run, but who regularly let his wife take over press conferences because he was uninterested. Briscoe did, however, demand and then reject a state constitutional convention, and finally helped pass an amendment for four year governor terms.
Future governors, like Ann Richards and George W. Bush, took the full measure of their power and used it. While Richards became a national sensation after her headlining speech at the 1988 DNC (done when she was only state treasurer), she also lost out to legislators who became irritated by her high-handedness. Bush, however, despite his lackadaisical style, made friends with almost every legislator, complimented them on the speeches they made on the floor, and helped push through the four policy reforms he had announced in his campaign against Richards: welfare, education, tort reform, and juvenile crime reform. Of course, along with his aide Karl Rove (who had cut his teeth running Bill Clements's, the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction, campaign in 1978), he parlayed that into a White House run with bipartisan support: the Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bullock, sided with him in his 1998 reelection campaign, and Speaker Pete Laney proudly announced him to the legislature and the world, right after his successful 2000 presidential victory.
Although, like many political books, this one spends too much time on public campaigns and too little on private action, it also understands power and explains how to use it, with both examples and maxims. It's a good book on Texas history, written by a Texas state representative, and a great book on state politics.
July 28, 2010
A relatively interesting read here from former State Rep. McCall. However, as I read the book, I consistently found myself wondering who the intended audience was. More specifically, this book provides a very high level overview of the Texas Governor's Office from Connally to Bush. Emphasis on high level. It certainly wasn't pointless reading as I was uneducated on some of these individuals. That said, it was VERY high level. The anecdotes were amusing and he often did a good job of providing relevant political context...but it was just very brief. I was consistently left thirsting for more...and I can't help but think that the average reader of this book would desire more detail as well.
Furthermore, I would say the book is woefully short on comprehensive analysis. A single, short chapter does a little bit of distilling of the material covered in the book. However, the analysis is disjointed and offers very little in the way of advancing anything besides surface level analysis that already appeared in the earlier section of the book. Side-by-sides comparisons of office holders, a recap of the evolution of powers and/or lessons learned would've been interesting. Additionally, though Rick Perry may not be done with his governorship, I think he's been in office long enough to report on his tenure and at least speculate on his legacy.
Overall, the material in this book is what it is. A nice little overview of how a handful of individuals went about being Governor of the State of Texas. There are some interesting factual details and some amusing anecdotes. But for me, this only serves as a foundation for the subject matter...more details and additional analysis would be required to rate this book any higher.
Furthermore, I would say the book is woefully short on comprehensive analysis. A single, short chapter does a little bit of distilling of the material covered in the book. However, the analysis is disjointed and offers very little in the way of advancing anything besides surface level analysis that already appeared in the earlier section of the book. Side-by-sides comparisons of office holders, a recap of the evolution of powers and/or lessons learned would've been interesting. Additionally, though Rick Perry may not be done with his governorship, I think he's been in office long enough to report on his tenure and at least speculate on his legacy.
Overall, the material in this book is what it is. A nice little overview of how a handful of individuals went about being Governor of the State of Texas. There are some interesting factual details and some amusing anecdotes. But for me, this only serves as a foundation for the subject matter...more details and additional analysis would be required to rate this book any higher.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews