Tag Archives: Dan Patrick

State news

One surprise from this session

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

If one were to press me for a response to a certain question, I would say that the Texas Legislature’s biggest surprise this session has been the absence of a bathroom bill similar to one that went down in flames in 2017.

For those who might not recall, here’s a brief recap:

The 2017 Legislature considered a bill pushed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that would have required anyone using a public restroom to use the one that comported with their gender at birth. That meant that transgender people could not use restrooms that aligned with their current gender. Yep, transgender men had to use the women’s restroom and vice versa.

Got it? Well, Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session and put the bathroom bill on the call list of issues to ponder.

Then it ran into then-House Speaker Joe Straus’s resistance. Straus said in no way would he allow the bill to advance through the House of Representatives. He declared it discriminated against transgender individuals and had no place in the roster of state laws.

The bill died a deservedly agonizing death.

Given the Legislature’s continued campaign to forge a conservative social agenda, I am surprised that a return of the bathroom bill has failed to materialize.

Straus left the Legislature after the 2017 session. His replacement as speaker, Dennis Bonnen, didn’t bring it back in 2019. Bonnen then left the House and his successor as speaker, Dade Phelan, hasn’t said a word about bringing this bill back.

Which is just fine with me. This goofy notion needed to die. May it stay dead … forever and ever.

local news

New feud brewing in Texas Senate?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Even though I am far removed from state and local politics these days by virtue of my retirement from full-time journalism, I do maintain a fairly high level of interest in the goings-on.

Such as what might be brewing in Austin between Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and a longtime nemesis, Republican state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo.

I’ll stipulate up front that I have declared my pro-Seliger bias. I know the senator quite well and I consider him a friend. He and Patrick have butted noggins already in previous legislative sessions. Patrick has sought to punish Seliger for allegedly “insulting” a key aide of Patrick’s. My reading of Seliger’s response has been it’s rolled off his broad back.

Now, though, comes this nutty legislation that might get stalled in the Senate. It’s the one that would allow any Texan who lives to pack a firearm even without obtaining a state-issued permit under the state’s concealed-carry law. Seliger thinks the current system works just fine and hasn’t signed on to the bill already approved by the House of Representatives.

Patrick, meanwhile, says he’ll move the bill forward once it obtains the required 18-vote majority it requires under Senate rules; Seliger’s holdout leaves the bill one vote short before it can be taken up by the full Senate.

Seliger is leaving open the possibility that he could be persuaded to support the bill. I hope he stands firm. It’s not that I want Patrick to punish him some more. Indeed, there’s little more that Patrick can do to Seliger above what he’s done already, which was to strip him of committee chairmanships and reassign him from some of the higher profile Senate panels on which he served.

I dislike the proposed legislation. No … I hate it!

With that, I will implore my friend to stand firm. Be strong.

local news, State news

Stand firm, Sen. Seliger

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Oh, I do hope a certain state senator reads this blog, as I intend to encourage him to stand firm against a blatantly reckless piece of legislation.

Republican Kel Seliger of Amarillo, a longtime friend of mine, is digging in against a bill that would, if approved, allow any Texan to pack heat even without a permit.

It’s a bit complicated. Texas Senate rules require 18 votes to consider a bill for a floor debate. That means all Republicans need to endorse the legislation. Seliger is balking.

The Texas Tribune reported: On Friday afternoon, one key GOP senator, Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo, suggested he may not be immediately supportive of the proposal. He told The Texas Tribune that his office was still researching the issue and he tends to support “just about all” bills related to gun rights, but the “system that we have now works.” He said it was too early to say whether he would block the bill from coming to the floor or vote against it if it made it to the floor.

Texas constitutional carry lacks the votes in Senate, Dan Patrick says | The Texas Tribune

The system “we have now” requires anyone who takes a brief course on firearm safety and operation and then passes a background check can carry a handgun concealed on his or her person. Yeah, the current system works well. What the Legislature is considering — and which the House already has approved — is a bill to allow anyone to carry a gun.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said the legislative body lacks the votes to approve the bill, but added that he intends to work to ensure that it makes the grade. That disappoints me, given that in 2017 he expressed concern about the notion of putting guns in the hands of every Texan who wants to carry one.

In a way, though, Seliger’s apparent resistance doesn’t surprise me. Nor would it surprise me if Patrick punishes Seliger in some fashion if the senator digs in for the length of the legislative session. The two men aren’t fond of each other as it is. Hey, I’ll just have to stand with my friend on this one.

State news

You go, Mr. Former Speaker!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Joe Straus describes himself as a “stay-and-fight Republican,” but it’s unclear to me how much fight he has left in his struggle with the party to which he has belonged for decades.

Straus is the former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He bowed out of office before the start of the 2019 Legislature, only to watch his successor as speaker, Dennis Bonnen, implode over a treacherous act against his former GOP lawmakers; Bonnen got caught promising to sacrifice 10 legislators who had drawn the ire of a far-right-wing political action committee.

Indeed, not long after Straus announced his intention to retire from the Legislature, I implored him to reconsider. He didn’t listen to me.

Speaker Straus, would you reconsider quitting the House? | High Plains Blogger

Now, though, he is telling the Texas Tribune that he might run for public office in 2022. Straus told the Tribune’s Evan Smith that the state GOP no longer is in the same place he occupies. It’s become a cult, he said.

Texas Tribune podcast: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus on the GOP | The Texas Tribune

Straus has me wanting to give him a high five, an atta boy, a shout out. I want him back in the arena.

Why do I admire this fellow? Well, during the 2017 Legislature, he had the guts to stand up to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s desire to enact a bathroom bill that sought to discriminate against transgender individuals. Patrick wanted the Legislature to enact a law that required people to use public restrooms in accordance to the gender with which they were born. Transgender individuals? Forget about it. Women had to use the men’s room, and vice versa.

Straus called a halt to it and it died in the House of Representatives.

Joe Straus is a reasonable man who deserves to hold a position of power in this state.

Let me think, what’s available to him. Oh, I know: The lieutenant governor’s office is up in 2022. My hunch is that Patrick will seek re-election, or he might decide to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott in the GOP primary.

I loathe Dan Patrick. I admire Joe Straus. He told Evan Smith: “I don’t have a plan right now. I do think that in the future, people in this state are going to be looking for a different type of leadership than we’ve had right now.”

Boy, howdy!

Sports news, State news

Sing it out loudly?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick got his underwear tied up in knots when Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced he wouldn’t allow the playing of the national anthem before NBA games at the American Airlines Center.

Then the NBA intervened and declared that, oh yes you will, Mr. Cuban, play the anthem, because it’s league policy that we hear “The Star Spangled Banner” before pro basketball games.

Patrick, though, was so angry he announced he would push for “The Star Spangled Banner Protection Act” in the Texas Senate, over which he presides.

The act is quite fascinating. The Texas Tribune reports about the bill: It hasn’t been filed yet, but it would require the playing of the anthem at all events that receive public funding. Presumably, that would include sessions of the House and Senate, which start with prayers, and pledges to the U.S. and Texas flags, but no anthem.

Analysis: A Star-Spangled culture war in Texas | The Texas Tribune

Let’s play this out. Do we play the anthem before we commence, oh, city council or school board meetings, or before counties’ commissioners courts meeting? They’re all open to the public. They receive public money, too.

I have the pleasure of attending Farmersville City Council and school board of trustees meetings as a freelance reporter for the Farmersville Times. I do not believe we are going to sing the anthem before the governing bodies start their meetings.

This, I submit, is a typical example of government overreaction that offers a so-called solution to an alleged problem.

Sports news, State news

Patrick strikes back at Mavs owner

1 Comment

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Maybe I should have seen this coming.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has declared a form of political “war” against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. You need to know why. He is angry that Cuban no longer allows the National Anthem to be played before NBA games at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Patrick won’t have it. He wants to make playing the Anthem mandatory at all sporting events.

Ayyye!

I’m tellin’ ya, the measures some folks take to insert government into matters where it really doesn’t belong. This appears to be one of those matters.

“It is hard to believe this could happen in Texas, but Mark Cuban’s actions of yesterday made it clear that we must specify that in Texas we play the national anthem before all major events,” Patrick said in a statement. “In this time when so many things divide us, sports are one thing that bring us together — right, left, black, white and brown. This legislation already enjoys broad support. I am certain it will pass, and the Star Spangled Banner will not be threatened in the Lone Star State again.”

Dan Patrick introduces “Star Spangled Banner Act” after Mavericks stopped playing national anthem | The Texas Tribune

I’ve already stated my tepid view on this matter. It remains so.

Cuban doesn’t want the Mavs to be inserted into political statements, such as when players “take a knee” during the Anthem to protest police brutality chiefly against African-American citizens. Given that the NBA comprises an overwhelmingly African-American roster of athletes, this form of peaceful protest has become standard among players.

Now we have the Legislature getting involved?

Give me a break. Please.

Patrick tweeted this: “Sell the franchise & some Texas Patriots will buy it. We ARE the land of free & the home of the brave.”

The land “of free”? Yes, we are. We are free to run our businesses as we see fit. Which is what Mark Cuban is doing. He isn’t making a choice I would make, but he’s the owner of the team. The lieutenant governor ought to butt out.

local news, State news

Might there be a new Texas legislative feud?

(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Texas state Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont appears to be the next speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

If he wins the vote among his colleagues, he’ll get to cross swords — maybe, possibly — with the guy who runs the other legislative body, the Senate down the hall. That would be Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Patrick has a habit of picking fights on occasion with legislators. He got mad at my pal, state GOP Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo, during the 2019 Legislature and stripped Seliger of his committee leadership posts. Why? Because Seliger spoke unkindly about a key Patrick aide.

Keep fighting the fight, Sen. Seliger | High Plains Blogger

During the 2017 session, Patrick wanted the Legislature to enact the infamous Bathroom Bill, the legislation that would have made it a requirement that folks use public restrooms in accordance with their “birth gender”; the bill was a clear act of discrimination against transgender individuals. The House speaker at the time, fellow Republican Joe Straus of San Antonio, would have none of that. He made sure the bill died during a special legislative session. My sense is that Patrick is still steaming over it.

Straus retired from politics. The next speaker, Dennis Bonnen of Angleton, served a single term and then got caught conspiring against fellow Republican lawmakers in a conversation with a far right wing political activist, Michael Quinn Sullivan. Bonnen bailed and is gone.

Now comes Rep. Phelan … apparently. I don’t know the young man, even though I once worked and lived in  Beaumont. I wish him well. I also hope he displays the kind of stones that Straus exhibited when Patrick tried to push him around over the Bathroom Bill.

Straus vs. Patrick: main event at special session | High Plains Blogger

Truth be told, I think Dan Patrick needs to be knocked a peg or three from his faux high horse. He offered to pay a reward to anyone who produced evidence of “massive voter fraud” in Texas during the 2020 presidential election; to date, he hasn’t handed out a nickel. Why? Because there was no fraud … the dipsh**.

Whatever happens during the Legislature that convenes Jan. 12, I look forward to watching it all unfold from my perch in Collin County. I just want the new House speaker — whoever emerges — to stand his ground against the bully who masquerades as the lieutenant governor.

State news

Hey, Lt. Gov. Patrick … have you awarded any dough?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, one of the charter members of the state’s Republican Party loony bin brigade, recently offered a reward for anyone who could produce evidence of vote fraud in Texas.

From what I have been able to gather, he hasn’t had to pay up.

Imagine that, eh? Why do you suppose Patrick has gone silent? I reckon it’s because no one has come forward with evidence of fraud. Not even a little bit of it, let alone “widespread voter fraud” of the type that Donald J. Trump keeps yapping about.

Texas registered a tremendous voter turnout in this year’s presidential election, with more than 11 million of us casting ballots. Trump carried the state by less than 6 percent. In Collin County, where I live — a county known for its rock-ribbed Republican standing — Trump won by just 4.4 percent.

The election was conducted with the usual professionalism that counties across the state perform.

Yet there was Lt. Gov. Patrick making a big show out of the most hideous non-story of this entire election cycle. He dangled money in front of Texans seeking to lure someone to come forward with evidence of vote fraud.

This is all part of the same sham and scam that Trump is unloading on the national democratic process. It’s the stuff of idiots, conspiracy theorists, dimwits, dipsh**s and certifiable loons.

Dan Patrick can rest easy now. He won’t have to pay anyone a nickel.

State news

Lt. Gov. Patrick offers election fraud ‘bounty’ … weird!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick needs to pipe down and concentrate on running the Texas Senate, which is set to convene its regular legislative session in January.

The Houston blowhard is offering a $1 million reward — or “bounty,” if you’ll excuse the comparison — to “incentivize” the search for any evidence of voter fraud in the presidential election.

Let’s be clear. There is no evidence, none, zero of widespread election fraud. Every state and every county in the nation worked diligently to protect the integrity of the electoral system, which chose Joe Biden as president of the United States in a free and fair election.

Patrick, though, is among a horde of Texas Republican politicians who won’t accept the obvious: that Biden is the new president and that their guy, Donald Trump, got thumped at the polls.

According to the Texas Tribune: Patrick said that anyone who provides information that leads to a conviction will receive at least $25,000. The money will come from Patrick’s campaign fund, according to spokesperson Sherry Sylvester.

So, I guess Patrick believes that voter fraud occurred. Hey, here’s a thought: If he’s so sure of it, he ought to produce evidence himself. Has he done so? Oh, heavens no!

Instead, he’s looking for saps who can chase phony leads down blind alleys, keeping a bogus issue at the front of the public’s attention for as long as possible.

Get to work on your real job, Dan … and stay the hell out of the way of President-elect Joe Biden’s task of preparing for the toughest job on Earth.

State news

Hoping our memories are long regarding Dan Patrick

Dan Patrick’s name won’t be on the ballot until 2022, when his term as Texas lieutenant governor is up for election.

I am running out of epithets to hang next to this clown.

I’ll stick with loudmouth for the moment, given that before he became a politician he had some kind of radio show. He is glib, quick with the quip and is utterly, stupidly insensitive to the plight of others.

I want him gone from the Texas political landscape.

The man whose job is to preside over the Texas Senate said recently that the nation’s leading epidemiologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” when referencing how Texas has responded to the COVID-19 crisis that is sweeping across the state. Patrick said Fauci has been “wrong” across the board, so he no longer will listen to him.

Prior to that Patrick said old folks ought to be able to surrender their lives if it meant restarting the state economy, which had been shut down because of the initial wave of infections created by the global pandemic.

This idiot’s Texas political career has been fraught with moronic statements, legislation and policies.

He serves as governor when the actual governor is out of the state. Frankly, Patrick gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Of course, he won’t be “primaried” by Republicans because the hard-core GOP base loves the guy. To my way of thinking I am not yet sure Texas is ready to elect a Democrat to the state’s second-leading political post.

I guess this is my way of suggesting we might be stuck with this nimrod for as long he chooses to sit in the lieutenant governor’s office. Which means I am left only to gripe about him in this blog and hope that something sticks down the road.

Or, perhaps our memories will retain the idiocy of what he has said about the pandemic and other matters if and when he decides to run for his current or another public office.