In politics, there is sleaze and then there is slime. Texas Land Commissioner and current candidate for Lt. Governor Jerry Patterson wins the Slime award of the 2014 Republican Primary for his most recent attack on Sen. Dan Patrick. And the two news organizations that helped the cash-strapped Patterson get his slime in front of voters get honorable mentions.
If you aren’t aware of it by now, Patterson hired a private investigator to go find a guy that was a busboy/cook at one of Patrick’s failed sports bars in the early 1980’s. The guy they found isn’t quite sure when it was but thinks it was 1983 or 84. The guy they found admits that he purchased a Social Security card and green card at a flea market and lied to get the job. The guy they found admits that Dan Patrick had nothing to do with hiring him. The guy they found says that Dan Patrick was a great boss (even though he never worked directly for Patrick). The guy they found says Dan Patrick was a wonderful, compassionate man. The guy they found says that Dan Patrick even offered to sneak him back into the country if he wanted to go home and visit his ailing mother. The guy they found says that Dan Patrick wrote a letter helping him get citizenship after Ronald Reagan signed the amnesty bill but can’t find a copy of it. The guy they found then says that he’s only speaking out now because Dan Patrick talked bad about illegals in 2006.
Puh-lease!
Give me a freaking break already. Does anyone believe this crap? Does anyone care? The only thing this story does is make the once-honorable Vietnam fighter pilot Jerry Patterson look small, petty, and desperate to stay on the government teet.
First off, an illegal lying about his status and working in a restaurant? Wow, who’d a thunk it! Especially in the mid-80’s when illegal immigration wasn’t the costly burden to taxpayers that it is today. It was only after Reagan signed that amnesty bill that the floodgates opened and people poured into the US knowing that the government wouldn’t do anything to stop them and would eventually give them amnesty too!
Patterson’s claim that Dan Patrick did one thing in the 1980’s and another today as a candidate falls flat on its face when you look at it in that context. Most Republicans have changed their attitude towards illegal aliens because of the explosion in numbers after the Reagan amnesty bill was passed into law. Well, except Patterson, I guess. He seems to be the only candidate in this race that supports another amnesty bill. Because history won’t repeat itself, right?
Next, about the story itself. It simply doesn’t pass the smell test. So a private investigator finds a dude that was a busboy in the 80’s and is now a citizen. Do you really, truly believe that Dan Patrick, owner of the sports bar, kicked back with the busboy staff after hours and discussed their citizenship status? Seriously? Well, if you do, then I’ve got some nice ocean front property out in West Texas that is available cheap! Give me a call. Besides, I thought that the main problem people had with Patrick was that he was self-centered and only cared about himself? But now we are supposed to think that he was willing to break federal law to sneak a busboy past the border patrol? Good grief.
Patterson’s camp shopped this story for months, hoping that someone would look into Patrick’s hiring in the 80’s. I suppose when they couldn’t find anyone willing to dig into it, they decided to hire their own private investigator to find a guy that would say something negative about Patrick. And then found a couple of reporters willing to do their bidding. The thing is, there are many legitimate areas to contrast Patterson’s candidacy with Patrick’s. But since he couldn’t make the case, Patterson resorts to slime. It’s a shame.
Who’d have ever thought that I’d be the one defending Dannie?
Folks, see this for what it is. Jerry Patterson is behind in the polls and out of money. The only thing left is free media. And he got a ton of it last night. But I think voters are smarter than he thinks they are. I think voters are going to see this for what it is. And I think that after March 4th, Patterson can go back to sitting in his rocking chair, whiling away the days.
Mr. Goeb says
Oh, please. Dan Patrick has been doing “desperate” things all campaign season to disparage his opponents. About time he got some blowback.
Dave Nalle says
Exactly right. Given the festering mess of slime which is Dan Patrick, any attack on him is justified. Taking on Dan Patrick is a major public service, and given what a terrible legislator and rotten human being Patrick is, I excuse any means used to stop him from occupying the most powerful seat in our government.
As to the story itself, I found it kind of whimsical and not all that damaging to Patrick. I don’t know what evidence you have of Patterson’s involvement in the uncovering of this story, but Patterson does have a genuine popularity with hispanic voters and it makes sense for them to rally around him and against a reborn nativist like Patrick.
Dave
Phillip Webb says
David, with all due respect, Patrick has been attacking Patterson, Dewhurst and Staples with false and misleading emails, Facebook posts and ads. All three candidates, Patrick excluded, have held their heads high throughout the entire campaign and have had to defend themselves against the garbage Patrick’s campaign has been spilling. This attack from Patterson was in response to the numerous false statements about illegals made by Patrick and his campaign. This attack wasn’t out of desparation, it is meant to put Patrick in his place!
Marc Young, PE says
I find myself almost evenly divided between Lt. Governor Dewhurst, whom I agreed to endorse last October at a Goliad SD18 Republican meeting. I believed then and now that David has done a good job at getting legislation through. He understands teh process and also understands that it takes some consensus building with the other side of the aisle. I supported David in his Senate bid and was disappointed to see how the campaign was handled.
I was supporting Jerry Patterson for Lt. Governor while David Dewhurst was running for US Senate. He was one of the first to declare his candidacy and has bonified conservative creditials. I heard him speak at Gonzales and got the opportunity to talk with him there at length. He came and talked at our Austin County Republicans monthly meeting. He was willing to listen ot our criticisms and our ideas. Especially he said he was willing to consider my idea on how to gfet the IRS out of Texas.
I went to Iowa in 2011-12 working on Governor Perry’s Iowa Caucus Presidential campaign. I served as a surrogate speaker and part of the Sioux City, IA strike team where at my assigned caucus in Crawford Township Perry came in 2nd. I had the opportunity to meet Dan Patrick, Todd Staples, amd Lt. Gov, Dewhurst (who agreed to have dinner with me). Because I was wearing my John Deere ball cap, I felt that Todd Staples was a bit condescending when we talked for a few minutes. Dan Patrick a bit self- absorbed.
I served as an Alternative Delegate with Rosemary Edwards of Travis County along with Dan Patrick on the GOP Texas Delegation ot the 2012 National GOP convention. As an elected official he was a bit petty taking one of the delegate positions that he could easily have had in the at-large nominations or state officals. He was generally unwilling to listen to ideas from other delegates like myself, Dan did not want to consider a proposal I was trying to get considered by the party for the platform that could have elimiated all federal taxes for Texas citizens. My calculations showed it could have saved Texans about 5 Billion dollars in Taxas and shifted federal tax methods and collection from the IRS to the State. Why, even though it would have removed $215 billion dollars of federal taxes from Texas citizens, he did not want to have to figure out how to raise $210 billion dollars for Texas to pay the fed. At least that was what he told me while we were waiting on our luggage to return at Houston’s airport. Finally, while it may seem petty to some when I dropped my cell phone and it stopped working, while sitting on the convention floor next to him I asked for him to give his cell number to Rosemary so she could contact him if she wanted to replace me. He gave it to her but then got up and left. When the vote Roll Call vote for Presidential Nomination came up a bit faster than everyone expected, I had difficulty getting notice to Rosemary because Dan could not be found. Sorry but I find Dan to be to much self absorbed for my personal taste and a bit too polarized for my political tastes.
I have Dewhurst’s sign on the back of my pickup and a Patterson sign on the front fence of my farm. I cannot say how I will vote until I go into the polling booth. But I can say it will not be voting for Todd Staples or Dan Patrick. I do not feel they have earned my vote.
theturkeyvulture says
Well hell, Jolly!
I wouldn’t shed too many tears for Mr. Dan “Patrick”.
He didn’t seem to give a rat’s rear at that last debate about leaving others holding the bag when he declared bankruptcy back in the 80’s. 800,000 K it was. Much worse than whatever it was that Mr. Patterson was trying to slime him with. It’s not exactly like he attacked Mr. “Patrick’s” integrity. He doesn’t have any!
But I confess I’ve read this entry twice and it still doesn’t make sense so I take your word that it was a real good slime.
I just hope ol’ Danny boy can take it like he gives it.
Manuel Barrera says
Do you honestly think the majority of undocumented people come here because they expect amnesty? “Puh-lease!”
Verity says
Desperation is spending months lying about your opponents’ records. Desperation is prevaricating about your own. Desperation is pretending you know nothing about your biggest supporters’ priority-to-kill legislation and cutting deals with liberal R senators to pass it, then back-pedalling and using obscure legislative tricks to recall it so you
can vote no – and then lying about that episode. Desperation is calling the truth a sleazeball tactic.
All of this describes Mr. Patrick.
I am dismayed that you would turn on Patterson instead of seeing Patrick for what he is and calling *him* out. This is part of a larger pattern with him! The worst of it now is that the same GOP members who lambasted other (Harris County) officials for similar transgressions are outraged, outraged at Patterson for calling out Patrick.
Shameful? Desperate? Patrick.
Heidi Thiess says
It’s kind of amusing to see Dan Patrick cast as a victim here. Have you forgotten who his consultant is? Allen Blakemore is the master of slimy attacks and Patrick has availed himself of this “skill” time and again. Now it’s “poor Danny boy”? Nah, if he can dish it out, he can take it.
David Jennings says
Heidi,
I’m not a “two wrongs make a right” kind of guy. Just my nature and who I am. And I’ve criticized Allen Blakemore more than every single person that comments on politics combined.
Dishing out hard contrasts on issues is quite different than going back thirty years, when immigration was a completely different issue than it is today, and finding a less than credible person to say things about a candidate is not the kind of politics I support. Your mileage may vary.
DJ
Heidi Thiess says
David, Dan Patrick is hardly dishing out “hard contrasts on issues”. He always has been and always will be a personal attack kind of pol.
And I didn’t say two wrongs make a right, I said it’s kind of amusing. Because Dan plays holier-than-thou while hiring one of the dirtiest campaigners in Texas.
But it’s nice to see that you admit Dan Patrick was wrong first (in the two wrongs DON’T make a right equation – see how I fixed that for you?). What makes it even funnier is that it’s Patterson, the Texas Solution guy, pushing back on the hiring illegals, of all things (when all he wants to do is make them all legal!). Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.
David Jennings says
Heidi,
I agree that you can’t make this up. And I noted in the piece that Patterson seems to be the only candidate for amnesty.
But where you and I differ is on the level of personal attacks. Like them or not, Dan’s “attacks” have to the best of my knowledge been about issues. If I’ve missed something, let me know. This “attack” by Patterson came from information he publicly stated that he received from a “top Democratic elected official in Harris County” (there is only one, Vince Ryan) and is very personal in nature, although he tries to disguise it as being about hypocrisy on illegal immigration. If Patterson had owned a service business in the early ’80’s, he would know much more about the issue and how it changed after Reagan’s amnesty bill.
I just call ’em like I see ’em, regardless of whether or not I “like” or “support” a given candidate. And I think you do too, so at least we agree on that.
DJ
Don Yates says
So, two wrongs make a right, Phil?
bnuckols says
The man has the letter and it’s signed, but appears that it was signed by someone for Patrick.
All I know is that Patrick has destroyed coalitions on the floor of the Senate and at least once went back on a vote he had promised us. He’s also the man who forced the metal detectors at the Capitol.
texas coastie says
While I will refrain from flogging a dead horse, I will respectfully nudge a toefull of dirt over the carcass.
Um, how is it again that closing Rollover Pass will save Galveston Bay from oil spills?
Just askin’ …