John Hayward:
We interrupt the standard “GOP Establishment crushes the Tea Party” narrative of the 2014 primaries to bring you this bulletin from Texas, courtesy of Fox News:
Tea Party-backed candidate state Sen. Dan Patrick defeated three-term incumbent David Dewhurst for the Republican nomination for Texas lieutenant governor Tuesday after a nasty race that evolved into personal attacks.
Patrick, a fiery radio talk show host who founded the Tea Party caucus in the Texas state legislature, ousted Dewhurst after a campaign full of attack ads and mudslinging over which candidate was more conservative.
Perhaps one day we’ll have a relatively calm, statesmanlike contest between an established candidate and a Tea Party insurgent. It would also be interesting if a few more of these races were run with something approaching financial parity. It’s significant when a feisty upstart overcomes a five-to-one funding disadvantage to unseat an incumbent, but no so much when the candidate with the huge war chest stomps on the outsider, which is the more common outcome. A lot of this year’s “faltering Tea Party defeated by Republican Establishment” headlines really should have read “candidate with more money wins primary election.” Which is not necessarily a criticism of the candidate with more money – that’s how politics works, and insurgent candidates must be realistic about their chances. It’s also not foolish of primary voters to feel that the candidate with more money and endorsement muscle has a better chance in the general election, although that’s not always how it works out.
The Texas Lt. Governor’s race was exceptionally brutal:
The race hit a flashpoint in recent weeks when Patrick’s private medical records were released to reporters. The records revealed Patrick had been treated for depression in the 1980s.
The medical history on Patrick, drawn from a criminal and civil court case, was released by Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who finished fourth in the primary but later endorsed Dewhurst.
The records chronicle psychiatric hospital stays in 1982 and 1986 in which Patrick “needed sitters around the clock for being severely depressed.” Patterson says the information was “not leaked, but in the public domain for 25 years.”
Patterson claimed to not be working for the Dewhurst campaign, and Dewhurst’s campaign asked him to stop the document dump. Patrick accused Dewhurst of lying about using Patterson as a surrogate, and then attempting to cover it up.
Releasing someone’s private medical records in an underhanded effort to sabotage his campaign is repulsive, producing a backlash that contributed to Patrick’s commanding 65-35 victory over Dewhurst – a bigger win than most polls were predicting in the final days of the race, and a stunning finish after his long-shot underdog status at the beginning of the campaign. Isn’t dumping those records also, you know, illegal? Many of us simple folk out here in flyover country were under the impression that private medical records are private, at least until ObamaCare is fully up and running.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has some more details on the medical-records disclosure, and allegations that Dewhurst played a role in it:
The costly, heated battle became more inflamed in the weeks before the election when documents that showed Patrick had been hospitalized for depression in the 1980s were given to the media.
Patrick said he admitted himself but added that his emotional state is much better and that he hasn’t needed treatment or medication in about 30 years. And he said that though the information was released by a former opponent, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, he believed that Dewhurst — a millionaire businessman who found himself running an underdog campaign — stooped “to a new low.”
Dewhurst’s campaign released a statement saying, “My heart goes out to Dan and his family for what they’ve endured while coping with his condition.” Patterson said he released the information because he believed that all Texans needed to know about it. Patrick said Patterson inadvertently sent out an email stating that it was Dewhurst’s idea.
Days before the election, Patrick offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who could produce an audio copy of a telephone push poll being conducted against him. “David Dewhurst won’t be able to hide from this dirty trick,” Patrick said. “He has run a disgustingly negative, mean-spirited campaign.”
The Texas Tribune has more about the medical-records controversy, including the text of the email from Patterson referred to by the Star-Telegram. It’s not really water under the bridge yet, because the issue may well surface during Patrick’s general-election campaign against Democrat candidate Leticia Van de Putte, currently a state senator from San Antonio. Patrick’s critics contend that he wasn’t completely honest in his official campaign biography about his treatment history, making a big deal about how it would damage him in the general election. Perhaps that will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, although for the moment it seems like the whole affair has only served to energize Patrick supporters. Lingering hard feelings over the finale of the long and bitter Republican primary could also influence how energetically the party rallies around Patrick in the general election. Dewhurst was notably slow to declare support for his victorious rival.
The Ayes of Texas are upon us.
There is weeping and wailing in the office of Joe Strauss today. His bootlickers, #1 and #2, have both been defeated in the primaries.
Perhaps Dewhurst should have been aware that when he caved to the Federal governments demands, and did not act in the best interest of Texans, he was going to be dethroned. Dan Patrick, who tried to get the Texas TSA bill passed, warned Dewhurst on the floor of the Senate, that he would run against him for Lt. Gov. if Dewhurst caved. Dewhurst caved over a threatening letter from one of Obama’s federal attorney lackeys. Patrick kept his promise.
What Dan Patrick, and Ken Paxton, along with Ted Cruz, proved is that in modern day Texas, you can’t buy elections. They were all outspent by Dewhurst and Dan Branch.
It is truly a find day in Texas.
Dewhurst’s political career in Texas was over after his nastiness against Cruz in the 2012 Senatorial primary. He showed his character using a sock puppet to release Branch’s medical records. Texas republicans don’t appreciate slimy tactics like that, so his loss was a foregone conclusion.
Tea party candidates need to stop hamstringing themselves. Running more than one tea party conservative in primaries only acts to dilute their voting numbers, allowing the RINOs victory in primaries.