Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took the stage at the Texas GOP convention last week and declared that Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is “going to Hell” because of his interpretation of Christianity. Patrick also called Talarico’s views “blasphemy” and accused him of campaigning against the almighty himself.
That’s rich coming from a politician whose party has spent the better part of a decade excusing behavior that would make even a moderately attentive Sunday school teacher choke up their communion wafer.
Adultery? Fraud allegations? Corruption scandals? Sexual misconduct accusations? Racist cruelty dressed up as public policy? The modern Texas GOP has shown little to no appetite for calling out such bad behavior when it’s undertaken by members of its own party.
Yet, somehow, Talarico — a Presbyterian seminarian who can quote scriptural circles around many of Texas’ Republican culture warriors — is the one Patrick thinks deserves to roast on Satan’s eternal hot plate.
Not because Talarico misquotes the Bible, but because he refuses to use it to bludgeon the weak and marginalized.
Patrick’s comments further cement something that’s long been obvious about Texas politics. For all the talk about biblical values, many of our state’s loudest self-appointed moral referees aren’t interested in righteousness. They’re looking to play to Republican primary voters.
After all, this is the same Dan Patrick who built a career on inflammatory rhetoric, from his continued fearmongering about immigrants to falsely blaming rising COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths on unvaccinated African Americans. The lieutenant governor who has repeatedly trafficked in divisive language while pretending he’s the state’s chief guardian of Christian virtue.
And let’s be honest: there is something deeply comical about politicians who spend years defending ethically challenged allies suddenly discovering a passion for moral accountability when the target is a Democrat. It was Patrick’s Texas Senate, after all, that refused to back up the House’s impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Fittingly, Talarico’s response to Patrick’s smear suggested a better grasp of Christian tenets. Instead of engaging in a game of dueling damnations, he called out Patrick for enriching donors at the expense of “the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable.” Of course, we’ll see in November whose brand of theology Texas voters are more comfortable with.
But Patrick’s fire and brimstone at the GOP convention serves up as a useful reminder. In Texas politics, some people invoke Jesus because they try to follow his teachings. Other assclowns invoke Jesus for cheap political points.
It usually ain’t that hard to tell who’s who.
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