It Would Seem That Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is Above Criticism

One of our G-d given, inalienable rights as Americans are our freedom to criticize our elected officials. 

However, it would seem that G-d given, inalienable right does not apply in Texas at least where it concerns Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. 

You might remember Patrick as the fellow who in April 2020 during the early days of COVID wanted to reopen the economy declaring there were "more important things in living". So much for Republicans being pro-life. 

Well, evidently Lt. Governor Patrick is above criticism. Consider the case of Texas A&M professor Joy Alonzo, a pharmacist by trade who is an expert in the area of opioids. According to the Texas Tribune, during a lecture Alonzo gave at Texas A&M back in March, she allegedly criticized Patrick for opposing policies which could have prevented opioid deaths. (Again, so much for Republicans being pro-life). Within hours of the lecture Alonzo was formally censured and placed on administrative leave with the following statement issued:

UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch) does not support or condone these comments. We take these matters very seriously and wish to express our disapproval of the comment and apologize for harm it may have caused for members of our community.

Yet it is unclear precisely what Alonzo said. What is clear is there is pervasive fear at Texas A&M when it comes to criticizing state officials:

When students at UTMB received the email hours after the lecture, several started texting each other, trying to figure out what Alonzo had said that was so offensive.

According to one student who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the school, some students wondered if it was when Alonzo said that the lieutenant governor’s office was one of the reasons it’s hard for drug users to access certain care for opioid addiction or overdoses.

A second student who also asked to remain anonymous for the same reason said Alonzo made a comment that the lieutenant governor’s office had opposed policies that could have prevented opioid-related deaths, and by doing so had allowed people to die.

A third student who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said Alonzo talked about how policies, like the state’s ban on fentanyl test strips, have a direct impact on the ability to prevent opioid overdoses and deaths. A push to legalize the test strips died earlier this year in the Patrick-led Senate despite support from top Republicans, including Abbott.

When I was a political science student at Carleton University in the early 1990's, you would have been hard pressed to find a professor who didn't criticize an elected official. Let me put it another way, if criticizing an elected official was grounds for being put on administrative leave then no one would have had a job. Moreover, if it was objectionable for students to criticize public officials then I would have been kicked off campus on the first day of class. 

I would like to know the substance of what Alonzo said. If Patrick and/or his allies at Texas A&M think what she said was wrong, then put forward the facts. Don't suspend Alonzo, claim she caused harm and not tell us about the harm which was done. As long as Texas A&M can suspend academics or retaliate against students who criticize government officials with impunity and without explanation then people can be branded with a scarlet letter for commentary real or imagined. 

While it is certainly possible that criticism of public officials might be substantively wrong, it remains a fundamental right which cannot be infringed. If we cannot criticize our public officials without fear of punishment or reprisal, then it means our democratic values have been cast aside in favor of embracing authoritarianism. 

Let me put it this way. If you go into politics, then you must expect criticism - fair or not. If Dan Patrick cannot abide criticism from a lecturer in a university, then he is in the wrong business. The best that we can hope for is for Texans to elect a Lt. Governor who can take the heat and dish it out like a happy warrior instead of having his friends ruin someone's life for having the temerity to disagree with him.