Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton probably wishes he had been anywhere else Sunday but on FOX News with Chris Wallace.
The network is usually a friendly refuge for conservative Republicans like Paxton. But this time was different.
Paxton was there to denounce President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for employees at large companies. Paxton says such mandates are unconstitutional and he's suing the administration to prove it. He believes private companies should be left alone to "take care of their own workers."
And that's where Wallace stepped in, pointing out that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had signed an executive banning those same companies from enforcing vaccine or mask mandates. Paxton supports that order. How is that leaving companies alone to "take care of their own workers" Wallace wanted know?
Paxton ducked. He bobbed, he weaved. He tried to keep from answering. But Wallace pressed. Every time Paxton tried to dodge, Wallace fired back with the same question. Since both are telling companies what to do, why is Abbott's mandate acceptable while Biden's is not?
Paxton did his best to obfuscate, but in the end had to admit states have "more authority over these areas" than the federal government.
In other words, if we do it, it's right. It's only wrong if they do it.
Hypocrisy in politics? Perish the thought.