Dan Patrick talks crime, abortion, and his rural bus tour during North Texas stop
BOWIE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — An hour after sunrise Wednesday, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's campaign bus stopped at the Armadillo Grill in Bowie, Texas, 68 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
His campaign doesn't widely publicize where they are going and didn't tell us they would be visiting Bowie beforehand.
We were invited inside the restaurant, where the two-term Republican Lt. Governor spoke with supporters and other diners individually. "I've never had so much fun campaigning," Patrick told us. "The people are wonderful, they're glad someone's come by to their small town, small county and visit."
Citing a tight schedule to visit other cities, the campaign said Patrick had time for only three questions.
Standing outside his bus after the event, we asked him about his newly unveiled crime plan which he hopes to pass in the legislature next year. "Guns are not the problem, it's the people who have the guns. We need to take them out of the criminals' hands. So we're going to put a ten-year mandatory sentence, if you use a gun in a crime on top of whatever sentence you're receiving for whatever crime if you're found guilty of."
He wants to get tough not just on criminals. "For the judges and DA's who will not follow the law and prosecute crimes under Texas law, we've got to work to find a path to be sure that they can't stay in office."
I also asked him about abortion and what he thought of Republican State Senator Robert Nichols' recent comments that he supports changing the state's current law so rape victims could legally have the procedure.
Now, abortions are only allowed to save the mother's life.
Patrick said, "On that issue, there's going to be a lot of discussion this session.. We'll see where Republicans and Democrats are, listening to people, we'll move forward. Look, my record is unassailable, I'm pro-life. I'm pro-life for everyone because I never think any baby should be another victim of a crime, but I understand people's thoughts on it, and we'll work through that."
The Lt. Governor's stop in Bowie is part of his bus tour through rural Texas, which the campaign says includes 131 stops in all.
Rural areas are reliably Republican, and Patrick told me his party can't take them for granted. "We need to carry it by big margins, so that's the message, it's to recognize, it's to galvanize everyone to vote and to mobilize to vote. Of course, we want to get the vote out."
He said he'll campaign in the state's big cities and counties too.
Watch Jack's full interview with Lt. Governor Patrick:
