Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Explodes After Democrats, Texas Companies Criticize His Voting Restriction Bill

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pretty upset about people not taking a liking to his voter restriction bill. 

“Senate Bill 7 is not voter suppression, it’s voter security,” he said. Patrick spent more than 30-minutes ranting about people who have expressed concern over the bill during a press conference last Tuesday. He slammed the media, Harris County officials, American Airlines, and a number of Democrats including Beto O’Rourke. He even called them a “nest of liars” for suggesting that the legislation is aimed at stopping Black and Hispanic communities from getting access to vote.

A number of large, Texas-based businesses, including American Airlines, Southwest, and Dell have released statements regarding the matter expressing their concern about it. It was recently that Major League Baseball opposed voting legislation similar to Patrick’s bill in Georgia, something most of the Texas leadership were less than thrilled about. 

Gov. Abbott announced last Monday that he would not throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opening game and would boycott any other Major League Baseball events in the future, in response to their decision from pulling out their event in Georgia in a form of protest against their recent legislation.

Patrick’s press conference was made after Judge Lina Hidalgo, Mayor Sylvester Turner, and other Harris County officials rallied in Houston against the legislation. During the event, Hidalgo said Republicans had “bought into a conspiracy theory” about widespread voter fraud, something that never happened.

Mayor Turner labeled the voting bills as “Jim Crow 2.0” and “part of a national campaign to restrict people’s right to vote.”

Patrick’s response? “They’re lying to you.”