|
Governorship Of George W. Bush
George W. Bush served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 until 2000, when he resigned as governor amid his transition into the U.S. presidency after having been elected president in the 2000 United States presidential election. As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs and helped make Texas the leading producer of wind powered electricity in the US. 1994 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 after which Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 election, even as his brother Jeb first sought the governorship o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1994 Texas Gubernatorial Election
The 1994 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ann Richards was defeated in her bid for re-election by Republican nominee George W. Bush, the son of former President George H. W. Bush. Before the election, Richards had a high approval rating due to the strength of the state economy. However, Bush's campaigning on cultural and religious issues resonated with many Texan voters, and the race was considered a tossup on election day. On election day, Bush carried 188 of the state's 254 counties, while Richards carried 66. Exit polls revealed that Bush won overwhelmingly among white voters (69% to 31%) while Richards performed well among African Americans (83% to 15%) and Latinos (75% to 25%). The 1994 election marked the last time that a Democrat won more than 45% of the vote in a Texas gubernatorial election, though the party was more successful in other statewide offices: Lieutenant Governor Bob Bull ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Governor Of Texas
The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who took office in 2015. Qualifications Anyone seeking to become Governor of Texas must meet the following qualifications: * Be at least 30 years of age * Be a Texas resident for at least five years before the election Governors of Texas are directly elected by registered voters in Texas and serve for a term of four years. They take office on the twentieth day of January following an election, which is also the date of expiry of the previous gubernatorial term. History The state's first constitution in 1845 established the office of governor, to serve for two years, but no more than four years out of every six (essentially a limit of no more than two ''consecutive'' terms). The 1861 secessionist constitution set the term start date at the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Prejean
Helen Prejean ( ; born April 21, 1939) is a Catholic religious sister and a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. She is known for her best-selling book, '' Dead Man Walking'' (1993), based on her experiences with two convicts on death row for whom she served as spiritual adviser before their executions. In her book, she explored the effects of the death penalty on everyone involved. The book was adapted as a 1995 film of the same name, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. It was also adapted as an opera, first produced in 2000 by the San Francisco Opera. She served as the National Chairperson of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty from 1993 to 1995. She helped establish The Moratorium Campaign, seeking an end to executions and conducting education on the death penalty. Prejean also founded the groups SURVIVE to help families of victims of murder and related crimes. Early life and education Helen Prejean was born in Baton Rouge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Lou Beets
Betty Lou Beets (March 12, 1937 – February 24, 2000) was a murderer executed in the U.S. state of Texas. She was convicted of shooting her fifth husband, Jimmy Don Beets, on August 6, 1983. Early life Born Betty Lou Dunevant to Margaret Louise Smithwick (April 20, 1917 – June 16, 1993) and James Garland Dunevant (September 15, 1912 – February 14, 2003), she was born in Roxboro, North Carolina, on March 12, 1937. Beets was deaf due to a childhood bout with measles, and claimed she was sexually abused by her father. When Beets was a child, the family moved from North Carolina to Hampton, Virginia, where her father was employed as a machinist at the Langley Research Center. Her mother was institutionalized when she was 12 years old, leaving her to take care of her younger sister and brother. Marriages Beets married her first husband, Robert Franklin Branson, at age 15, and according to her supporters, all of her marriages were plagued with sexual abuse and domestic v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karla Faye Tucker
Karla Faye Tucker (November 18, 1959 – February 3, 1998) was an American woman sentenced to death for killing two people with a pickaxe during a burglary. She was the first woman to be executed in the United States since Velma Barfield in 1984 in North Carolina, and the first in Texas since Chipita Rodriguez in 1863. She was convicted of murder in Texas in 1984 and executed by lethal injection after 14 years on death row. Due to her gender and widely publicized conversion to Christianity, she inspired an unusually large national and international movement that advocated the commutation of her sentence to life without parole, a movement that included a few foreign government officials. Early life Karla Tucker was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the youngest of three sisters. Her father Larry was a longshoreman. The marriage of her parents was troubled, and Tucker started smoking cigarettes with her sisters when she was eight years old. During her parents' divorce proceedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe Jr. (April 23, 1923 – June 27, 2010) was an American rancher and businessman from Uvalde, Texas, who was the 41st governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Because of his re-election following an amendment to the Texas Constitution doubling the Governor's term to four years, Briscoe became both the last governor to serve a two-year term and the first to serve a four-year term. A lifelong resident of Uvalde, Briscoe was first elected to the Texas Legislature in 1948 and served as a state representative from 1949 to 1957. As part of the reform movement in state politics stemming from the Sharpstown scandal, Briscoe won election as governor in 1972. During his six years as governor, Briscoe presided during a period of reform in state government as Texas's population and commerce boomed. Following his two terms as governor, Briscoe returned to the ranching and banking business in Uvalde. He is recognized as having been one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landslide Victory
A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geological landslide buries whatever is in its path. What constitutes a landslide varies by the type of electoral system. Even within an electoral system, there is no consensus on what sized margin makes for a landslide. Notable examples Argentina * 2011 Argentine general election – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of the Front for Victory won a second term as President of Argentina in a landslide victory. She received 54.11% of votes, while no other candidate received more than 16.81%. Australia State and territory elections: * 1989 Queensland state election – Wayne Goss led the Labor Party to a historic landslide victory over the Country Party (later known as the National Party) led by Russell Cooper. The Country Party had been in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tort Reform
Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes are generally justified under the grounds that litigation is an inefficient means to compensate plaintiffs; that tort law permits frivolous or otherwise undesirable litigation to crowd the court system; or that the fear of litigation can serve to curtail innovation, raise the cost of consumer goods or insurance premiums for suppliers of services (e.g. medical malpractice insurance), and increase legal costs for businesses. Tort reform has primarily been prominent in common law jurisdictions, where criticism of judge-made rules regarding tort actions manifests in calls for statutory reform by the legislature. Background Tort actions are civil claims for actions that cause a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 31, 2007. He has also headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. Prior to his White House appointments, he is credited with the 1994 and 1998 Texas gubernatorial victories of George W. Bush, as well as Bush's 2000 and 2004 successful presidential campaigns. In his 2004 victory speech, Bush referred to Rove as "the Architect". Rove has also been credited for the successful campaigns of John Ashcroft (1994 U.S. Senate election), Bill Clements (1986 Texas gubernatorial election), Senator John Cornyn (2002 U.S. Senate election), Governor Rick Perry (1990 Texas Agriculture Commission election), and Phil Gramm (1982 U.S. House and 1984 U.S. Senate elections). Since le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Allbaugh
Joe M. Allbaugh (born July 27, 1952) is an American political figure in the Republican Party. After spending most of his career in Oklahoma and Texas, Allbaugh came to national prominence working for Texas governor George W. Bush and helping manage his 2000 presidential election campaign. Allbaugh then became Bush's Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) beginning in February 2001. He served until FEMA's transfer into the newly created Department of Homeland Security, after which he resigned in March 2003. He was appointed as the interim Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections by the state Board of Corrections, effective January 11, 2016. On July 6, 2016, the Oklahoma Board of Corrections voted unanimously to make his appointment permanent and set his salary at $185,000. Allbaugh has pointed out his department "is not a listing ship, it is a sinking ship." Early political involvement Allbaugh began working on political campaigns at the age of 12 as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karen Hughes
Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956) is the global vice chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and as a counsellor to President George W. Bush. Early life Born in Paris, France, Hughes is the daughter of American parents Patricia Rose (Scully) and Harold Parfitt, the last U.S. Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. After graduating from W. T. White High School in Dallas, Texas, Hughes earned a bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University in 1977 where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She is of partial Irish and English descent. Early career Hughes worked as a television news reporter from 1977 to 1984. As a reporter, Hughes followed the 1980 presidential campaign. In 1984, she went to work as the Texas press coordinator for the Reagan-Bush campaign in the 1984 United States presidential election. She later became executive d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.M. Philip Lucas, "Martin Van Buren as Party Leader and at Andrew Jackson's Right Hand." in ''A Companion to the Antebellum Presidents 1837–1861'' (2014): 107–129."The Democratic Party, founded in 1828, is the world's oldest political party" states Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s. The party is a big tent, and though it is often described as liberal, it is less ideologically uniform than the Republican Party (with major individuals within it frequently holding widely different political views) due to the broader list of unique voting blocs that compose it. The historical predecessor of the Democratic Party is considered to be th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
