AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Monthly has announced the winners – so to speak – of its annual "Bum Steer Awards." And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has been handed the dishonor of "Bum Steer of the Year."
Every year, Texas Monthly bestows the Bum Steer Awards to the "dopes, villains, and terrible ideas that bedeviled our beloved state over the past twelve months." After Patrick, this year's runner-ups are Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Texas A&M University and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In its article taking Patrick to task, the magazine called the lieutenant governor "arguably the most powerful politician the state has produced in a quarter century: an adroit strategist, tactician, and punisher who makes Governor Greg Abbott look like the president of a small religious college." But by "reshaping the state in his image," Texas Monthly says Patrick is hurting more than helping.
The magazine said 2023 was a big year for Patrick, including his turn presiding over Paxton's impeachment trial.
"Having taken almost complete control of the 31-member state Senate, over which he presides, he’s accomplished nearly everything he set out to do a decade ago, and the Republican Party of Texas has more or less rebuilt around him," Texas Monthly wrote. "His remodeling of the Senate culminated this year with the acquittal of his longtime ally Paxton, after an impeachment trial that made public overwhelming evidence that the attorney general had used the power of his office to benefit a campaign donor and personal crony."
"With his political talents, Patrick could be one of the great statesmen in the history of the Legislature," the magazine goes on to say. "Instead, he haunts Texas, unwilling to countenance any dissenting voice while remaining cartoonishly bound to an imagined past."
For more of Texas Monthly's thoughts on Patrick, read the full "Bum Steer of the Year" report.