Weigel

Texas Republican (Who Might Be Lt. Gov. Soon) Accidentally Praises Gay Marriage Ruling

Michael Li was quick enough to capture the typo of the day: A reaction from Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick, a serious candidate for lieutenant governor, to the district court’s ruling against the state’s gay marriage ban.

The tweet was quickly deleted and replaced by a version that rectifies the gender. No harm, no foul. I generally don’t go in for these quick-shot “politician you’ve never heard of says a thing” items, but Patrick was polling at 31 percent in the Texas Tribune’s survey of the LG race. He’s in a fantastic position to make the runoff and face a weakened Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Just two years ago, Patrick had backed Dewhurst in his primary against Ted Cruz, using his radio show to light into the candidate on Dewhurst’s behalf. A year later Patrick was calling Cruz “Reaganesque” and a possible president. On and on the Texas GOP marches, until there’s no more space left on the right.