Texas Pol David Dewhurst Pegged With 'Anchorman' Parody

By Abby D. Phillip August 22, 2013

(Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images | AP Photo)

Call him Ron Burgundy, or at least that's what his political rivals hope you'll do.

Texas Lt. Gov David Dewhurst, who is running for re-election in 2014, has gotten relentlessly teased by his political opponents for contacting cops to get a relative out of jail in an Aug. 3 phone call.

Hours after the 911 call first surfaced, the Texas commissioner of agriculture and a fellow Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Todd Staples, suggested that Dewhurst, 68, was actually doing his best interpretation of "Anchorman" Ron Burgundy, portrayed by actor Will Ferrell.

A subsequent tweet was accompanied by a photo of Dewhurst's face digitally altered onto Burgundy's body along with the text, "I'm kind of a big deal. People know me."

"I am, every year, the No. 1 pick of all of the law enforcement agencies within Texas," Dewhurst tells the officer, according to an audio recording of the conversation.

Another rival, Dan Patrick, who is also running for lieutenant governor, quickly ginned up a faux Buzzfeed meme list to mock the incident on his website "Dewfeed."

"The fact that David Dewhurst believes he and his family are above the law is the height of arrogance and recklessness," Patrick said in a statement. "This blatant abuse of power would be stunning coming from any elected official. However, it is particularly disturbing coming from the Lieutenant Governor of Texas."

To add insult to injury, KFYO, a Texas Radio station, also released a parody call of Dewhurst's exchange with law enforcement for the arrest of his "step-niece-in-law," complete with audio from the film.

For his part, Dewhurst released a statement from his spokesman saying that Dewhurst was seeking information about how to follow normal procedure to get a family member of jail.

"David acted as a concerned family member in an attempt to acquire information on how to post bail for his niece while reiterating multiple times in the full conversation that law-enforcement follow their normal protocols and procedures," spokesman Travis Considine said.