On several occasions, we have groused about two state officeholders who have spent their terms being utter embarrassments to Texas.

They are not the first state officials of either party to embarrass our state and will not be the last. But there are issues with Attorney General Ken Paxton and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller that go well beyond the norm of incompetent officeholders.

One big difference: In other instances, candidates have successfully hidden their damaging attributes until they were elected, then unleashed their embarrassing incompetence on an unfortunate state.

Not so with these two. In these cases, the electorate bears outsized responsibility.

Texas voters knew full well they were electing two dysfunctional men to top statewide offices. All the evidence needed was on the table at the time of the Republican primaries.

More disappointing is the fact there were solid Republican candidates running against them, true conservatives with solid credentials, who were not likely to be indicted or facing investigations by the Texas Rangers.

That did not seem to matter. Republican voters — followed by the populace at large — went on to elect these two to office.

Just to review, Paxton now faces state and federal charges that he played fast and loose with regulations governing the sale of securities. He did not actually sell anything, but guided clients to an affiliated broker with his recommendations. That’s legal as long as you tell the buyer you will be paid if the sale goes through, but Paxton didn’t utter a peep.

All of this and more was known about him before the primary election. Paxton won anyway.

It was not quite so clear with Miller before the primary. All voters had was a pattern of behavior. One of those questionable moves was that rocker Ted Nugent was Miller’s campaign treasurer and was fully backing him. Nugent’s presence is not just a red flag, it should be considered a fireworks display of warning.

It did not take long for Miller to prove out this fact.

After campaigning on the usual non-specific baloney of cutting waste and reducing taxes, once elected he declared his office was under-funded and demanded another $50 million from taxpayers. Later, he looked to fatten its coffers by raising fees for a range of services it provides — despite arguing for years and during the campaign that they were too high. He increased salaries and hired cronies.

But wait, there’s more. Miller has twice tried to get the state to pay for purely personal trips he has taken. He has since paid the money back — but only after being caught with his hand in the till. Miller’s actions are so fishy even Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said an investigation is warranted. The Texas Rangers are obliging.

We can blame Paxton and Miller all we want, but we knew they were skunks and still cuddled them in our laps.

They were elected because they said particular words some wanted to hear, words that — amazingly — led many to believe they were purebred conservatives.

The voters are to blame for not looking beyond the paper-thin veneer to see the obvious truth.

We will pay for this lack of attention with bad government from these two important agencies. We hope it teaches Texas voters to take more care before casting a ballot but fear it will not. In fact, it appears clear warning signs are being ignored in the current race for the State Board of Education seat that represents Northeast Texas.

Mary Lou Bruner won the most votes in the District 9 primary and heads into next month’s runoff as the apparent front-runner despite a history of making statements that, at best, illustrate a failing grasp on reality.

It has been said that in a democracy the people get the government they deserve. That seems a harsh judgment in these cases, but it is all too true.

>> Longview news-journal