Lawsuits on the Left, Lawsuits on the Right

That lawsuit in which Dan Patrick revealed his mental health history isn’t new-news. In fact, he was criticized for failure to report it in a voters’ questionnaire just last January and it was covered in an article in the Texas Monthly, back in 2007.

If a person files a lawsuit claiming damages and mentions mental problems, his medical records will become part of the court records and public. Patrick initiated and lost both a criminal trial and a civil lawsuit against a Houston reporter and his newspaper, opening the door to last week’s revelations.

However, what should be news is the contrast between the reaction from the Right about Patrick’s lawsuit and Wendy Davis’ lawsuit seeking damages for the way a newspaper treated her:

and,

https://twitter.com/MQSullivan/statuses/398234066631151616

Somehow, these same venues have not criticized Dan Patrick for his lawsuit demanding damages from a Houston newspaper and reporter.

The Left hasn’t missed the difference, and some have called it hypocrisy:

“So: both unsuccessfully sued the press, both endured revelations of mental anguish. The only real difference is that Patrick’s mental health troubles would seem, on the available evidence, to be much more substantial and long-lasting. Many conservatives in the state are rallying around Patrick: How did they treat Davis when her (very minor) admission was written up last November by noted slug pundit Eric Erickson?”