My Kind of Politician

Jerry Patterson is the Texas Land Commissioner.  In this article, he’s responding to criticism that he regularly carries in Big Bend National Park.

I’ve been criticized for acknowledging I carried a concealed handgun, as is my right, on recent visits to Big Bend National Park. A National Park Service rule prohibits carrying a loaded, concealed handgun.

“Evidently, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson was absent from school the day the Constitution was covered,” wrote the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board.

While that’s an awfully cute jab, the reality is I’ve learned the Constitution over the course of a lifetime – not just one day. I’ve taken oaths to uphold and protect our Constitution – as a U.S. Marine and as a state elected official.

A politician who takes his oath to uphold the constitution seriously, AND flagrantly disregards a unconstitutional laws?  It’s almost enough to make me move to Texas just so I can vote for him.  He ends with this:

As an elected official, I take an oath that I will “to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God.”

I do not regard such affirmations as anachronistic formalities. I guess you can call me an old-fashioned believer in the wisdom of those who penned the Bill of Rights and not much of a believer in the wisdom of editorial boards.

Excellent quote.

Hat tip to Cam at NRANews for this one.