Dan Patrick

May 16, 2014

A Comment on Dan Patrick

Why the lieutenant governor candidate's mid-eighties mental health issues should not be a campaign issue.

May 7, 2014

Speaking of the Lite Guv Race

Thanks a lot, David Dewhurst, for getting this song stuck in everyone's head again

May 7, 2014

Last Night’s Lite Guv Debate

A rowdy roundtable with Dan Patrick and David Dewhurst

April 16, 2014

The Politics of Illegal Immigration

Last night's debate suggested that Texans still recoil at divisive rhetoric on illegal immigration--and that Republicans know it.

April 16, 2014

I watched the debate on immigration between Dan Patrick and Julian Castro last night. Erica is also going to write about it today, but in my mind it didn’t really settle anything though it did raise a long-lingering issue. During the course of the debate, Patrick said that

April 3, 2014

The Dewhurst Resignations

Are they the final nail in the coffin for the lieutenant governor?

March 10, 2014

The Case Against Dropping Out

Republicans shouldn't pressure Dewhurst or Branch to drop out

March 10, 2014

Lost Causes

David Dewhurst should give up his bid for re-election.

By Erica Grieder and Paul Burka

March 5, 2014

What We Learned

The voters have spoken (loudly) in the primary election. Where do we go from here?

February 27, 2014

Dan Patrick’s Twitter Typo Was Heard ‘Round The World

By the end of the day yesterday, state senator Dan Patrick's twitter typos had Conan O'Brien talking about him.

By Dan Solomon

February 21, 2014

Patterson v. Patrick

As the clock winds down on the primary, Patterson unloads on Patrick in the hope of taking the second spot

By Brian D. Sweany

January 28, 2014

Last Call for the Candidates for Lieutenant Governor

The situation in Fort Worth, in which a pregnant woman named Marlise Muñoz was brain dead and was carrying an abnormal fetus, is truly tragic for the family. It was revolting to see Dan Patrick try to exploit the situation to demand that Texas law be changed, following a decision

January 28, 2014

Who Wants to Be Lieutenant Governor?

The debate among the Republican candidates for lieutenant governor was heavy on wedge issues but light on policy.

By Brian D. Sweany

September 17, 2013

The Coup Against Dew

Most people seem to agree that Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is a decent, reasonable fellow with good intentions. So why is he having to fight for his job?

August 28, 2013

Texas Tribune Insider’s Poll

I didn’t make the list of the Texas Tribune insiders, but I’m going to try to have my say about the survey on the lieutenant governor’s race nonetheless. First, I think Dewhurst’s 11 percent is too low. There are enough mainstream conservatives left in the Republican party that

July 22, 2013

The Strange Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth of CSCOPE

CSCOPE is an Internet-based curriculum developed for Texas schools and teachers by state-funded education service centers. The reason it was created is that many small school districts do not have the expertise to develop their own curricula. CSCOPE fills that void. It became controversial because some elements of the curriculum

June 27, 2013

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick?

The candidacy of Dan Patrick for lieutenant governor could be a seminal moment in Texas politics.

June 24, 2013

Williams v. Patrick

In the ongoing sniper fire that is taking place between Senate Finance chair Tommy Williams and Education chair Dan Patrick, I am in total agreement with Williams. If you are appointed to the Finance committee, you are obligated to support the committee’s work. This has been the practice

April 30, 2013

Abbott and Domestic Partner Benefits

Senator Dan Patrick and Attorney General Greg Abbott have teamed up to try to prohibit Texas employers from providing domestic partnership benefits to their workers. Patrick got the ball rolling when he discovered that Pflugerville ISD offered domestic partnership benefits to employees. Abbott made his ruling through an

April 10, 2013

Crash Test

Over the past two decades a movement to increase the importance of standardized testing in public schools has swept across the country. It was born in Texas. Is Texas also where it might die?

By Nate Blakeslee

March 18, 2013

James Ives Speaks

The Texas Tribune reported Monday that the president of the Fort Bend County Tea Party formerly served as the “director of propaganda” for the American Fascist Party. Listen to a speech Ives gave in September at Tea Party meeting where he hosted Michael Quinn Sullivan.

By Nate Blakeslee and Texas Monthly

March 6, 2013

How Should History Be Taught at A&M and UT?

In a story with the headline “Legislators Seek to Tweak College History Requirement,” Ralph K.M. Haurwitz writes in today’s Austin American-Statesman: Some history courses offered at the University of Texas, Texas A&M University and other public institutions of higher learning in the state would no longer count toward core

February 28, 2013

No More Namby-Pamby Business

After the 2011 budget cuts, the Lege has some room for reform on public education.

News & Politics|

January 21, 2013

The Women’s Health Discussion Continues

TEXAS MONTHLY invited state senator Dan Patrick and state representative Donna Howard to tweet chat with executive editor Mimi Swartz about our August cover story on women's health.

By Jason Cohen

January 21, 2013

Five Takeaways from Rick Perry’s Budget Compact

During a speech Monday, the governor laid out a five-point, budget-cutting pledge for no new taxes. But what was he really saying?

By Jason Cohen

January 20, 2013

Power Company

As we head into the most critical legislative session in decades—maybe ever—the question is not just, Who are the people with the most clout at the Capitol? It’s also, What do they want?

By Paul Burka, Patricia Hart and Nate Blakeslee

January 20, 2013

Business as Usual

Who’s the toughest opponent for Republicans who want to crack down on illegal immigration? Other Republicans.

By Nate Blakeslee

January 20, 2013

Other Shoe Drops—But Not On Allen Fletcher

Tomball state representative Allen Fletcher is on his way to a second term. His former business associate may be on his way to the federal penitentiary.

By Nate Blakeslee

December 15, 2012

Pflugerville ISD authorizes domestic partner benefits

The school board voted 5-1 to approve the measure, making Pflugerville the first district in the state to offer such benefits.As many readers are no doubt aware, state senator Dan Patrick has asked attorney general Abbott to rule on whether domestic partner benefits are legal under the state’s

May 7, 2012

A Senatorial Spat

State senator Dan Patrick accuses fellow senator John Carona of spreading vicious rumors about the Patrick marriage, resulting in an email exchange that might make CW producers jealous.

By Sonia Smith

September 2, 2011

Dan Patrick calls for 2-cent sales tax increase for education

“We are going to have to make serious decisions in the future because we can’t keep stretching the nickel,” Patrick said. “How do we fund education long term? I think we should add 2 cents to the sales tax, and dedicate that to education. The reason I think that is:

May 24, 2011

R.G.’s Take: The Nanny State of Texas

Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a faraway land called Pennsylvania, a woman named Sarah Palin brought 200 protest cookies to school for children at the Plumstead Christian School - because she had read a report – mistaken as it turns out – that the state was

By R.G. Ratcliffe

February 18, 2011

An odd moment in the sonogram debate

I was sitting in the Senate gallery yesterday, listening to the debate over the sonogram bill, when Dan Patrick said something that got my attention. He said that he had asked Speaker Straus to recommend someone to carry the sonogram bill, and Straus had recommended Geanie Morrison. He repeated this

February 8, 2010

At the Palin-Perry rally

I drove to Houston for the rally yesterday. The event was held at a huge complex called the Richard E. Berry Educational Support center on Barker-Cypress Road in northwest Houston. The surrounding area is entirely outside the Houston city limits and is unincorporated. A colleague at Texas Monthly who lives

September 20, 2009

Dan Patrick comments on Perry’s Houston remarks

Senator Patrick e-mailed me a report about Perry’s appearance at the Greater Houston Partnership. I posted it in the comments to “Let them eat Chili.” Readers are invited to read Senator Patrick’s comments and reach their own conclusions.

August 17, 2009

Would Perry pick Patrick?

I confess that I didn’t pay a lot of attention to Dan Patrick’s reelection announcement last week, but one thing struck me as very peculiar. Here are the first three paragraphs of the release: “During the past few weeks there has been speculation I might run for, or be appointed

May 13, 2009

Patrick’s new approach

Yesterday’s Senate debate on Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s driver’s ed bill highlighted one of the remarkable stories of the session: Dan Patrick’s transformation into a real player who is having an impact on legislation. Wentworth’s bill would have required 18 to 25-year-olds to take a driver’s ed course before obtaining a

May 1, 2009

Tie-breaker in Senate on teen contraception bill

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte’s bill permitting teen mothers to get contraception without parental consent to reduce repeat teen pregnancies produced a tie-breaker on an amendment by Dan Patrick which required notification of parents for those teens still living at home. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was summoned to break the

April 30, 2009

Ultrasound bill wins Senate approval

Doctors would be required to offer ultrasounds to women seeking abortions, and women would have the choice to view or not view the tests, under a compromise accepted today by Sen. Dan Patrick and adopted by the Texas Senate. “It is really inform and consent. It is women’s health. It

April 16, 2009

A Patrick compliment. Sort of.

Sen. Dan Patrick, apparently attempting to compliment Sen. Bob Duncan, said that the mesothelioma bill would not even be getting debated except for the “political capital” and respect Duncan enjoys among his colleagues. Okay, so far, so good. “I don’t think that one senator voting with you really knows what

April 14, 2009

Seliger bill would clip SBOE’s wings

The fallout from the State Board of Education's debate over the teaching of evolution continued this morning in the Senate Education Committee, which held a spirited discussion on Sen. Kel Seliger's SB 2275 transferring authority for textbook adoption from the State Board of Education to the state's Education Commissioner. How spirited?

February 24, 2009

Rocket Science

Rep. Mark Strama and Sen. Kirk Watson chose to recognize Pro-Life Lobby Day by introducing a “Prevention Works Act” aimed at reducing abortions by reducing unwanted pregnancies. Wait…so how would this work, exactly? The press release for the Watson and Strama bill claims that “Prevention Works is a real pro-life

February 23, 2009

R-E-S-P-E-C-T? Get Real

Just got a notice from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s office that tomorrow, on Pro-Life Lobby Day, Dewhurst “will speak in support of legislation which would require all women considering abortion be offered an ultrasound image of their unborn child and the opportunity to hear its heartbeat prior to receiving an

January 27, 2009

(Ultra) sounding off about State of the State

Deep into the State of the State address, Gov. Rick Perry endorsed a proposal by Sen. Dan Patrick and Rep. Frank Corte to, in Perry’s words, “require those wanting to terminate a pregnancy to review their ultrasound before proceeding.” Perry told the assembled lawmakers today that “as we consider the

January 19, 2009

Dan Patrick responds: “The partisanship of the Democrats brought us to this point.”

Senator Dan Patrick responded to my post about the future of the 2/3 rule by e-mailing me his observations, which he requested that I post. They appear below. The only way the two-thirds rule can survive is if the minority, regardless of party, understand that if they totally refuse to

January 14, 2009

One Senate rule clearly in effect

That would be the “Pottery Barn” rule as invoked by Secretary of State Colin Powell to warn against the then-proposed invasion of Iraq. “You break it, you own it,” he reasoned. This morning, Dewhurst told reporters that he mentioned the Powell axiom to senators who wanted to change the two-thirds

January 14, 2009

Williams claims precedent for rules change

Sen. Tommy Williams assures the Senate that he believes the two-thirds rule “is a good thing. I have been a House member who lost his entire package in Calendars Committee. It would be a travesty if we went to that method.” Then he recounted the “ugly scene” that occurred last

January 14, 2009

Van de Putte on a matter of personal privilege

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte: “I am often asked why doesn’t the Senate fight like the House. I usually reply we don’t often fight or argue because we genuinely like each other. We believe in… diplomacy and compromise. This is what is best for Texas and its citizens.” “We don’t

January 14, 2009

The Senate’s conundrum

What rules govern when the Senate is debating what rules govern? That’s Sen. Eliot Shapleigh’s question to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. This debate has slowed down Sen. Tommy William’s resolution, which would change Senate rules to suspend the two-thirds rule for the Voter ID bill. Dewhurst’s answer was a little

January 14, 2009

Dewhurst disavows pushing rules change

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst just walked by the Senate press table and informed us: “I’m taking Colin Powell’s advice. If you break it, you own it.” We just thought you should know.