George W. Bush as Governor of Texas

Infobox President
name = George Walker Bush

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order2 = 46th
office2= Governor of Texas
term_start2 = January 22 1995
term_end2 = December 21 2000
lieutenant2 = Bob Bullock (1995–1999) Rick Perry (1999–2000)
predecessor2 = Ann Richards
successor2 = Rick Perry
birth_date = birth date and age|1946|07|6
birth_place =

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footnotes =|

George W. Bush served as the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

Campaign

With his father George H. W. Bush's election to the United States Presidency in 1988, speculation had arisen among Republicans that George W. Bush would enter the 1990 Texas gubernatorial election. This was offset by Bush's purchase of the Texas Rangers baseball team and personal concerns regarding his own record and profile. Following his success as owner of the Rangers,Fact|date=August 2008 Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 election, even as his brother Jeb first sought the governorship of Florida. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor Ann Richards, a popular Democrat who was considered the easy favorite, given Bush's lack of political credentials.

Bush was aided in his campaign by a close coterie of political advisers that included Karen Hughes, a former journalist who was his communications adviser; Joe Allbaugh, who became his campaign manager, and Karl Rove, a personal friend and political activist who is believed to have been a strong influence in encouraging Bush to enter the election. Bush's aides crafted a campaign strategy that attacked Governor Richards' record on law enforcement, her political appointments, and her support of liberal political causes. Bush developed a positive image and message with themes of "personal responsibility" and "moral leadership." His campaign focused on issues such as education (seeking more accountability for schools over student performance), crime, deregulation of the economy, and tort reform. Following an impressive performance in the debates, however, Bush's popularity grew. He won with 52 percent against Richards' 47 percent. [cite book|last=Wayne Slater|first=James Moore|year=2003|title=Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential|publisher=Wiley|location=USA|ISBN = 0-471-42327-0|pages=210]

Governorship

As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. Under his leadership, Texas executed 152 prisoners, more than under any other governor in modern American history; critics such as Helen Prejean argue that he failed to give serious consideration to clemency requests.cite web|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17670|title=The New York Review of Books: Death in Texas] Seeking to reduce high property taxes to benefit homeowners while increasing general education funding, Bush sought to create business taxes, but faced vigorous opposition from his own party and the private sector. Failing to obtain political consensus for his proposal, Bush used a budget surplus to push through a $2 billion tax-cut plan, which was the largest in Texas history and cemented Bush's credentials as a pro-business fiscal conservative. [cite book|last=Wayne Slater|first=James Moore|year=2003|title=Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential|publisher=Wiley|location=USA|ISBN=0-471-42327-0|pages=233–36]

Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs by extending government funding and support for religious organizations providing social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. As governor, he reached out to religious leaders such as Kirbyjon Caldwell (who would later offer the official benediction at Bush's presidential inauguration). He signed a memorandum on April 17, 2000 proclaiming June 10 to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day where he "urge [d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need." [cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/art/pop_jesusday.jpg|title=Jesus Day |accessdate=2006-06-30 |date=2005-03-11 |format=JPEG |work=Texas State Archives |publisher=PBS] Although Bush was criticized for violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"), his initiative was popular with most people across the state, especially religious and social conservatives.

During his tenure, Bush signed the execution warrants for more death row inmates than any other Governor in the history of Texas, averaging a death every nine days. ["The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, Bantam Press, London, 2006 p. 291] The only death penalty case among the 153 that came across George W. Bush's desk in his tenure as Texas Governor in which Governor Bush intervened and commuted the death sentence was that of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

Bush also helped make Texas the leading producer of wind powered electricity in the US. In 1995 Bush made wind power a key facet of Texas' renewable energy policy. Under a 1999 Texas state law, electric retailers are obliged to buy a certain amount of energy from renewable sources. This environmentally progressive legislation is a striking counterpoint the energy policies of his presidency that favored the status quo. [cite web|last=McGrane|first=Sally|url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3592|title=The Green Rose of Texas|year=2006|publisher=Foreign Policy|accessdate=2008-07-15]

In 1998, Bush won re-election in a landslide victory with nearly 69 percent of the vote, becoming the first Texas governor to be elected for two consecutive terms since Dolph Briscoe was reelected in 1974. [cite news|author=Associated Press|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/03/election/governors/texas|title=Texas Gov. George W. Bush wins in landslide |publisher=CNN|date=1998-11-03|accessdate=2006-06-30] Within a year, he had decided to seek the Republican nomination for the Presidency.

References