Jeremy Diemert                                                                                             3/06/15

 

 

Texas, while a hospitable place to live (for the most part), has been tainted with a long line of ridiculously ignorant and fanatical right-wing politicians; from Ted Cruz to President “Ignoramus” aka George W. Bush, we have had our fair share of nuts. That being said, Texas has never seen a politician (or possibly individual) as unashamedly benighted, unequivocally misinformed, and generally immoral as Texas’ second most powerful man: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Yes, that’s right Texans, you elected a Tea Party man who thinks that the Earth is 6,000-years-old, thinks Mexico is a third-world country, and hates Muslims with a passion.

Starting out as a television broadcaster in Pennsylvania and later Washington D.C., he eventually moved to Houston, Texas (WHY US?!) in 1977 and became a sports broadcaster with KHOU-TV. As a sports broadcaster, he defended an athlete who threw a journalist through a door because he didn’t feel like it was the journalist’s job to do “negative reporting”.  In the early ‘90s, Patrick got a job as a conservative talk radio show host which propelled him into the political spotlight, and got him enough publicity to win a Senate seat in 2006. In his first senate term, Patrick’s greatest hits included outlawing abortion, boycotting Bill Maher and the Houston Chronicle, and…yeah, that’s about it. He sure grapples with the big issues, doesn’t he?

You’d think native Texans would have learned how much of a nutcase Patrick was after his first term, but, no, not only did he get re-elected in 2010, but he won with a whopping 86.4% of the vote! What is wrong with people?! His two term senate career was one of Texas’ biggest blunders, but it didn’t stop there, in 2014 he was elected to the position of Lieutenant Governor (the second most powerful position in the state) and he was sworn in on January 20^th, 2015. Dan Patrick is dangerous, and someone who should not be taken lightly. While his idiocy is humorous, how powerful of a man he has become is nothing short of disturbing.

Dan Patrick, simply stated, is a theocratic fascist, who hates working-class America, wants to mix church and state, and is a blatant racist. Patrick has fought for years to have young-earth creationism be taught in public schools even though it clearly violates the First Amendment. Patrick also claims that America is a Christian nation despite the fact that the founding fathers were Deists, and he believes HIS religious views should be imposed on everyone else. Patrick has ardently fought against gay-rights, women’s rights, and voter’s rights. If that wasn’t enough, here’s the kicker, the man actually believes God communicates with people through the preposterously stupid reality show ‘Duck Dynasty’. That’s right, if you need some spiritual enlightenment, ‘Duck Dynasty’ is the show for you.

Overall, Dan Patrick is an inept, racist, homophobic theocrat and fascist. He is a conniving snake-oil salesman that will do anything and everything to get his way. I really hate to say it , but it utterly disgusts me to see such a hateful human in public office. Dan Patrick is a menace to freedom, and the success of Texas as a state. I’m honestly shocked that there aren’t daily protests against him and the other insane Republicans currently holding office in this state.  As left-wing Texans, we need to stand up and find honest politicians that can really make a difference. We shouldn’t have to stand for disgusting abominations of morality like Dan Patrick. Texas is a wonderful state and we need to keep that way. Texans, keep up the fight!