OK, we need a new word here, people. Help us out. Something that describes a simultaneous feeling of great joy and nausea, laughing with delight while urping up a little bit at the same time. That word, whatever it might be, describes the reaction here at Unfair Park headquarters to this new online video from Team Dewhurst, the official YouTube channel for the Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst's re-election committee.
In case you've not been following the political knife-fighting going on between Dewhurst and GOP runoff opponent state Senator Dan Patrick, "The Ballad of Danny Goeb" refers to the fact that Patrick, a former radio personality, changed his name in 2003.
In ads, Dewhurst's campaign suggests that Patrick changed his name to skip out on unpaid debts from an earlier bankruptcy, which would be pretty juicy stuff if it were true.
Well, actually, it's pretty juicy even if it isn't, and if lies get Republicans tearing each other up with videos like "The Ballad of Danny Goeb," then SKUH-REW the facts.
Still, it behooves us to point out what the Austin American-Statesman/PolitiFact Texas website has to say about the claim:
On April 17, we rated as Pants on Fire another claim in Dewhurst's ad -- that Patrick changed his name to hide his debts. Patrick, who grew up as Dan Goeb, had gone by the name Dan Patrick as a broadcaster since the late 1970s but legally changed his name in 2003 in anticipation of running for public office -- more than a decade after his personal bankruptcy case ended. Based on that time gap and an absence of other factual back-up, we found Dewhurst's name-change statement incorrect and ridiculous.
So shame on you, David Dewhurst, for following it up with such an egregious video.
Please, sir, may we have another?
We expect so. During a debate with Dewhurst in Dallas today, some of the comments Dewhurst let fly caused Patrick to complain that the exchange "reminded me of a debate I had a long, long time ago -- in seventh grade."
Now, let's try for third grade, guys.
