Okay, for you folks from foreign states here’s some background on this story.
Dan Patrick got elected Lt. Governor of Texas. Worse things have happened in Texas but not many.
Dan Patrick is as far rightwing as you can get without falling off the earth, something Dan has done once or twice. He has become a tad paranoid this session, believing that the Governor and the Speaker of the House are picking on him.
Okay, any good story also has a plot thickener. Here’s one: a group called The American Phoenix Foundation has been secretly videotaping moderate Republican members of the Texas Legislature. They have 800 hours of what they consider damaging videotape they have turned over to Breitbart Texas.
Bringing the two together and you get —
A senior staffer in Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s office knew lawmakers were being secretly videotaped by a conservative nonprofit, but did not make senators aware because it did not involve anyone in the upper chamber.
The Texas Department of Public Safety briefed Patrick Chief of Staff Logan Spence on the videotaping previous to the story breaking last week, Patrick spokesman Alejandro Garcia confirmed Monday. Spence did not ask DPS to brief the full Senate, however, because no senators were believed to have been targeted by the group.
Of course, nobody believes that Spence didn’t tell Dan Patrick because Dan Patrick is a gossipy little ole bitty who would relish seeing moderate Republicans get beat and be replaced by his wildly crazy rightwing militia. Dan Patrick would kiss Spence on the mouth to know secret stuff like this and would gleefully supply additional names of people to tape.
It’s gonna be like feeding red meat to lions in the Republican caucus in Austin.
Hell, this is better than recess in heaven!