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.