title:  White House CLOBBERS Texas Lt. Gov Outrage Over Trans Students, And It’s GLORIOUS
text: If Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) thought he was going to get away with being a completely transphobic jerk regarding transgender students using the bathroom, he thought wrong.After President Obama announced that any public school that refused to let a transgender student use a restroom consistent with their identity would run the risk of losing federal funding, Lt. Gov. Patrick lost his damn mind. He went so far as to say: I believe that it is the biggest issue facing families and schools in America since prayer was taken out of public schools. [Obama] has put a policy in place that will divide the country, not along political lines, but along family values and school districts. He says he s going to withhold funding if schools do not follow the policy. Well in Texas, he can keep his 30 pieces of silver. We will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States. Yes, folks, he s that much of a bigot. Letting transgender individuals pee in the appropriate bathroom has nothing to do with  family values  and everything to do with just letting a person pee. However, many Republicans like to label anything that gives them the heebies jeebies as going against their  values,  so this really shouldn t come as a surprise. They likely used to say the same stuff back when black people wanted to use the same bathrooms as white people. These people are bigots and they re not afraid to make sure everyone knows it, coded language and all.Well, the White House heard what Patrick had to say about President Obama s directive, and hit back  hard. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said: Well I think this does underscore the risk of electing a right-wing radio host to elected statewide office. Patrick, of course, is also known as being a very far-right conservative talk show host before being elected as Lt. Governor.Earnest also said: This is not an enforcement action. This is in response to extensive requests for guidance and for information and advice that have been put forward by school administrators and teachers and in some cases, even parents, who are seeking practical solutions to this challenge And the challenge here is not to isolate anybody, it s not to discriminate against anybody, it s not to make anybody unsafe. It s actually to ensure that our schools are as inclusive and respectful and safe as they can possibly be. He added that many schools would  welcome this guidance and implement it. In the year 2016, you d think there wouldn t still be such backward, myopic thinking that can t embrace life outside a bubble of what one might think a person should be. However, there is, and because there is, the White House is very open to a dialogue to address concerns. After all, most bigotry and discrimination is the result of lack of knowledge and understanding.Dan Patrick is being Dan Patrick. A man who likes to hear himself speak and doesn t seem to care who he hurts along the way. If he thinks the president asking schools to be inclusive and allow students to choose the bathroom of their gender identity at risk of losing funding is blackmail, then he s clearly a bigot who doesn t want to comply.Good on the White House for smacking his clear bigotry down.Featured Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images