Posted on 01/11/2007 2:04:42 PM PST by WestTexasWend
The Texas Senate's Most-Feared Mouth is on the air from Austin.
From a nearly empty basement cubicle in a Congress Avenue high-rise, "The Dan Patrick Show" debuted Wednesday afternoon from Austin. Patrick, a newly sworn-in senator from Houston, said he thinks he is the only legislator in the country with his own talk show. "This is the Voice of Texas," Patrick intoned in his radio voice, as he opened
Patrick's first show from the capital city began just a few hours after he introduced an abortion bill. His bill would make performing most abortions illegal in Texas, if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned.
Patrick welcomed phone calls to talk about the issues of the day, but don't call him senator, he told listeners, who quickly lit up phone lines with congratulatory calls and comments. "It's just Dan."
"I had a hole in my sock on Monday, and I still do."
As an outspoken conservative Republican known for his take-no-prisoners approach, Patrick has been viewed by fellow senators as someone to be handled only with asbestos gloves. Their caution: With his on-air bully pulpit, he can make political trouble.
In the clubby, decorous Senate, he is an antithesis.
First up on Patrick's Wednesday show: His version of why he lost a 30-1 vote Tuesday in the Senate, in an attempt to do away with the so-called two-thirds rule that requires 21 of the 31 senators to agree before any bill can be debated on the Senate floor.
"I didn't take it as a loss," Patrick said, noting he successfully bucked Senate tradition by challenging the rules as a new member. "I took it as taking a stand for what I believe in. We should not have any mechanism that thwarts debate. . . . Eleven Democrats can stop us on any conservative issue."
Phone lines lit up with supporters' calls, all praising him for taking a stand.
"This isn't about you or me, it's about majority rule," Patrick recounted telling the Senate. "I think (Monday's vote) helped us break down the wall that freshmen don't have a say. Yesterday, I broke down those walls.
"I can see how some may think tradition is more important than what the majority want, but this is what I campaigned on. This what I believe."
More phone lines lit up.
He talked about how someone scaled his station's 150-foot transmission tower outside Dallas earlier this week and displayed a Mexican flag and maybe a solid-black flag, as well. The dangerous stunt, he suggested, might have been payback for shows last week in which he challenged federal inaction to curb illegal immigration from Mexico.
"The federal government is to blame," he opined.
More phone lines ringing, lit up like a Christmas tree.
At times, Patrick sounded conciliatory, at others more combative.
"We're going to take a stand," he said. "We're not going to crawl in a hole and sandbag it. . . . The public is sick and tired of things getting done the same old ways they've always been.
By the end of the show, callers had grown agitated and were saying they'd help do away with the Senate rule — by calling or e-mailing their senators. "Don't put it past your listeners to get something done," one caller, Jeff, told Patrick.
"You have a seat at the table. You have a voice in Austin," Patrick reassured him.
At one point, when a caller reminded Patrick that a critic once predicted "birds would fall out of the sky" if he was ever elected, the new senator quipped they actually did — on Monday, when dozens of dead birds found on Congress Avenue had forced a half-day closure of the so-called Main Street of Texas the day before the Legislature convened.
Though Patrick referred to his new radio digs as a studio, it looked more like a vacant storage closet. Located in the basement of a the building near the Capitol that houses most offices of the Capitol press corps, it was recognizable only by the torn strip of blue duct tape on the door, the room number scrawled in pen. The small L-shaped space was furnished only with royal blue carpet, two chairs and small table where Patrick was connected via a phone line to his Houston radio station, KSEV-AM 700.
An aide stayed for a few minutes, then left, leaving Patrick alone with his headset — and his callers.
While the show airs in Houston and Dallas, Patrick could be heard also in Austin. His inaugural broadcast drew listeners in several Capitol offices via the Internet. Initial reviews: Tame.
In coming months, Patrick said he will invite elected officials to join him as guests. So far, none have volunteered.
"I've told senators I view this as our radio station," Patrick said before the broadcast began. "I'm sure there will be days when something will be said that will ruffle feathers."
By today, he might know whether that day was Wednesday.
The show airs Monday through Thursday, from 4-6 p.m. Patrick said he will broadcast when he has the time. He will be on the air today (Thursday), and some days next week. Check his station's Web site for the latest schedule.
On the airwaves: Radio KSEV, 700 AM (Houston-based, but can be heard in Austin)
On the Internet: www.ksevradio.com. Click on the right side of the page header, on 'Listen live Now!'
I've watched Dan Patrick broadcast live using about the same setup. A chair, tales and a headset. The guy really is amazing. It's like he has a clock in his head or something. He's one of the best broadcasters I've ever seen. Really gifted.
tales=table
I like to think that if Jim Robinson and FReepers created a talk radio station it would be very much like Dan Patrick's two radio stations, KSEV and KVCE. They are very politically active and don't just talk about issues important to conservatives. KSEV and KVCE take action to improve our government and community.
Dan's afternoon show (4-6 p.m. CT Mon-Fri) is simulcast on KSEV 700 AM (Houston) and KVCE 1160 AM (Dallas). The signal can be heard from the Texas/Oklahoma border south to Corpus Christ and west to Austin. Listen live on the web at ksevradio.com and kvceradio.com
FReepers in Texas should also definitely listen in at 6-9 a.m. CT Mon-Fri on the morning show with Edd Hendee in Houston and Pat Gray in Dallas. They broadcast individual shows in the first hour for their respective cities and then simulcast the show together during 7-9 a.m. CT.
Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with KSEV/KVCE in any way other than as a frequent listener.
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