Republican House Leadership to Texas: Use It or Lose It

Back in September, September 14th to be specific, Texas’ junior senator, John Cornyn submitted Senate Bill 3774, a bill to extend the deadline – a fast approaching deadline – for expenditure of funds under the Social Services Block Grant of 2008. This was a small part of a huge bundle of bills rolled up into HR 2638 and was meant to provide funds for “health services (including mental health services), and for repair, renovation, and construction of health care facilities (including mental health facilities), child care centers, and other social services facilities” that were affected by major disasters (like Hurricane Ike).

But apparently it had one small problem. The deadline extension specified in Cornyn’s bill, September 30, 2012, was too long. So on September 29th, in a move to save his bill and get it passed, Cornyn introduced an amendment to move the deadline up one year, to September 30, 2011. He also inserted language to put his bill in compliance with the recently passed Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

The amendment passed and Cornyn’s bill, specifically meant to keep unspent but allocated funds available for expenditure for another year, something to the tune of $40,000,000, was passed in the Senate by unanimous consent on that very day.

The Senate sent the bill to the House, and they asked for unanimous approval as well, I guess to speed it along. The deadline was that very day, September 30, 2010.

And it was there, in the House Appropriations Committee, that the bill was killed.

By Republicans.

Here is an account of this in the Houston Chronicle. In summary, it looks like “Republican leadership” decided that if Texas couldn’t spend its disaster money in two years it obviously didn’t need the money.

There was also a concern, one that we hear often repeated, that the bill was coming to them just before the recess and they didn’t have enough time to study it. My guess is that they were also a little miffed about the unanimous consent request, and probably had a feeling that someone was trying to pull something.

So they killed it.

Finger pointing ensued on Capitol Hill. No one was taking the blame for this. The only thing anyone agreed about was the suddenness of the bill’s appearance. And about the fact that it would only take one objection on the House floor to deny unanimous consent.

So they killed it.

And in so-doing, they added to Texas’ unemployment rolls when the dozens of social services agencies that were to be kept running if the bill passed started laying off their employees this past week.

John Cornyn and Pete Olson are apparently pretty steamed about this. People who had jobs and who were helping others now don’t and aren’t. So now maybe Olson and Cornyn might want to take another look at their same tired old complaint about not wanting to pass a bill before reading all 18,000 pages of it.

When Republicans do that, sometimes people lose their jobs.

Texas Senator John Cornyn Thinks US Trades With Iran

I don’t know, this isn’t exactly a non-mainstream bit of news, but if the United States has had a trade embargo with Iran for 20 years, why then, was our United States Senator (Texas), junior senator John Cornyn moved to declare that the new Gas Price Reduction Act would reduce, by 3 million barrels of oil per day, the amount of oil that the United States would buy from “Iran and (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad”?

Oh yes he did.

He is quoted in today’s issue of the Tyler Morning Telegram . . . right here.

Iran has not sold the United States a drop of oil, or anything else since Ronald Reagan imposed a trade embargo on them. At least not legally. So it would make no sense for John Cornyn to include Iran in his short list of undesirable nations that we wouldn’t have to buy oil from if his “Oil drillin’” bill passes.

But that didn’t prevent him from saying it anyway.

Here is the Rick Noriega campaign response to John Cornyn’s latest brain fart:

“‘It's clear from his latest comments that when it comes to dealing with the energy crisis John Cornyn is running on empty. Texas families and folks across the nation are in an energy crisis and they are relying on the leaders in Washington for solutions. It's a worrisome state of affairs when a United States Senator can't even get the basic facts straight,’ said Holly Shulman, spokeswoman for the Rick Noriega for Senate campaign. ‘Texas families deserve better.’”

Despite his pile of fluffy silvery gray hair, Cornyn is only 56 years old so we can’t blame incipient Alzheimer’s as we begin to suspect a certain presidential candidate may have.

56 is too young for senility to set in.

I think it is a genuine Republican mis-read of the facts, based on past and present business practices. Fact is, Halliburton has maintained a business relationship with Iran despite the embargo. Surely, if Dick Cheney’s old company can do it through its foreign subsidiaries, and has done it with impunity, then why not be under the assumption that the US is buying Iranian oil?

Clearly this is not a miscomprehension of the facts. It is, rather, a revelation in the Republicans view of the world: if Dick Cheney can do it, then it must be OK.

Big Bad John . . .Revisited

Our Texas Senator, "Big Bad" John Cornyn, has his music video all over the internet. My favorite Senator, Sen. Barbara Boxer has alerted non-Texans about it to my ever loving glee. But now we have the Rick Noriega reply.

Senator Cornyn, if you choose to ally yourself with a cliché , be fully prepared to be made one.



Words fail me. No. Here they come.

Thank you, John Cornyn, just for being you.

Barbara Boxer (D – Calif.) Is Funny

I just received the email from Barbara Boxer that announced that US Senator from Texas candidate Rick Noriega was the winner of her PAC for Change's "Choose a Challenger" contest that I mentioned here and here. You get the overall impression that she is pleased with the result, but what I wanted to highlight for you was her postscript.

I’ve seen Boxer in CSPAN coverage and other video clips, so I know the woman has a wicked sense of humor. This just bears it out.

“P.S. Check out the campaign video that's turned Rick Noriega's Republican opponent, Senator John Cornyn, into a national laughingstock: Click here to watch "Big Bad John" -- a video clip that Senator Cornyn is actually using to promote himself in Texas. It's not often that I'll ask you to watch a Republican ad -- but in this case, I just had to make an exception”

See what I mean?

For the Want of One Senate Vote Medicare Bill is Killed

Now we can blame Texas Senator John Cornyn for denying Medicare benefits to countless elderly Americans and those with low-income. Why not? That’s what Democratic nominee for US Senate Rick Noriega is doing.

It makes sense because this is an election year for “Big Bad John” and he gets to have the immediate benefit of an enraged electorate during the worst year, ever, to be a Republican in congress.

From Noriega’s memo:

"Today's vote is simply unconscionable. John Cornyn's vote has jeopardized access to health care for thousands of elderly Texans," Noriega said. According to the Texas Medical Association, 58 percent of Texas physicians will have no choice but to limit the number of new Medicare patients they treat. Noriega said Cornyn's actions will forcemore and more physicians out of the Medicare program."

"Instead of standing up for Texas' patients and physicians to fix Medicare's flawed payment system, Cornyn has once again put partisan politics and the profits of private, for-profit Medicare HMOs ahead of the needs of Texas seniors."

Last night, the bill, HR 6331 came up in the Senate for a cloture vote, the vote that gets a bill out of debate and put up for a vote. They needed 60% of 98 senators what with McCain on the campaign trail and Kennedy on the mend from brain surgery. That’s 59 votes.

They got 58.

Now one can argue that Kay Bailey also voted no and Cornyn can hide behind her skirts pointing at her stammering “So did she!” And one can also argue that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is equally responsible, his being the one lone Democratic Nay vote (yeah, what’s with that?). But Texans can’t control Reid’s Nevada vote. They can, and should do something in the immediate sense about Cornyn’s. Kay Bailey can’t be touched until she decides to run for Governor in ’10, but we have some immediate recourse with the junior senator from Texas.

So yeah, let’s put the blame for the whole catastrophe right at John Cornyn’s door. After all one should reap what one sows when they step on America’s Third Rail.

Why Doesn’t Texas Senator John Cornyn Support Our Veterans?

I received an email from the Rick Noriega campaign yesterday. Its sole purpose was to inform us supporters of Noriega that his November opponent, John Cornyn, the junior senator from Texas, remains at odds with the people who have gone to war since 9/11.

Whatever your opinion of whether the war in Iraq is just or moral (I still can’t find anyone opposed to the Afghan war), the men and women who went off to fight that war deserve our support, not only when they are in theater, but when they have rotated back to America.

And when they have left military service.

Enter Senator Jim Webb’s S. 22, the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007”. This is a bill that establishes a program of educational assistance for veterans of Post 9/11 wars. It amends the GI Bill to provide up to 3 years of assistance in getting a education and training after graduation from high school. It encourages veterans who are high school dropouts to get that high school diploma so that they qualify for this program.

It is a good, solid pro-education bill. Solid pro-veteran bill. A win-win for America.

Here, I could see a list of 56 senators who have signed on as co-sponsors. It is a bipartisan list.

But John Cornyn’s name does not appear on that list. Big surprise, huh?

John Cornyn, our Texas senator that sat out the Vietnam War with his 2-S student deferment (while others born the year of Cornyn’s birth were drafted and served in Vietnam), has not signed on as a co-sponsor for this bill, just as he refused to support our troops. He has actually voted against bills that provided funds for enhanced body armor for our troops, voted against the bill that allowed our troops to rest and recuperate at home an equal amount of time that they were in a war zone.

John Cornyn makes himself available for photo ops with uniformed troops but won’t support them when push comes to shove. This has to change, and Rick Noriega has thrown down the gauntlet by asking us to send emails to Cornyn demanding that he show his support by signing as a cosponsor to S. 22, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007.

Click here to sign this petition.

Why has Cornyn refused to support this bill? It all comes back to the Bush Rubberstamp that Cornyn carries around. The Bush Regime opposes this bill. What forever for? This is either going to make you laugh in disgust or fly off the handle in rage, as quoted from Noriega’s email message:

“The Bush Administration opposes Senator Webb's GI Bill because they fear soldiers will leave the military to attend college. As someone who has defended this nation, I'm outraged by the notion that we should limit benefits in civilian life to force our troops to stay in the military.”

So not only does the Bush Regime run his troops into the ground with 3, 4 or even 5 rotations into battle zones, he wants them to keep on going instead of leaving the military to get an education. An education to give themselves, and their families, a better life. An education that they most certainly deserve.

It’s just plain awful and our senator is playing right along. Why not help out? Why not send a message to Cornyn that we are sick of his hypocritical words of support for our troops?

It’s free and you don’t get hit with a pitch for a campaign contribution. So why not?

To Republican Request For Rick Noriega’s Military Records: You Sure You Want A Dog in This Hunt?

Texas State Rep. LTC Rick Noriega got a message from the Republican Party this past week. In it, they asked him whether he would release to them his Texas National Guard military records. Here is how they framed it in Republican party spokesman Hans Klinger’s letter to Rick:

“You have indicated that you intend to make military experience, integrity and transparency the cornerstones of your campaign. We are grateful for your service to this great country and we agree that those that seek higher office should support transparency and openness regarding all of their public service records”

“It is with that transparency in mind that we would like to officially request that you sign the enclosed letter authorizing the Texas National Guard to release all of your records from your military service and return it to us no later than . . . ”

I like that part about “transparency”, because it is transparent to me, to Rick’s campaign, and to anyone who reads this message that drips in poisonous sincerity that the Republican Party of Texas, and the Cornyn campaign, have it in mind to pick apart Rick Noriega’s military service record. They plan to do it in the same heinous ways that were perpetrated on the 2004 John Kerry presidential campaign by the Bob Perry-financed “Swiftboater’s for Truth” campaign. The campaign that gave the English language the verb “to swiftboat”. I also like Rick Noriega’s response to their fawning request:

“I am concerned that your intentions in this matter are not honorable. In the past, some Republicans have conducted dishonest and disreputable attacks on veterans.”

The release goes on:

“Noriega states in the letter that he welcomes honest scrutiny of his over two decades of military service, including his deployment to Afghanistan and his service as the Laredo Sector commander in the fight against drug and human trafficking along the Texas-Mexico border.”

I have a comment and a question. The comment is this: if you are as angry as I am about this attempt to besmirch the military career of Rick Noriega, why not sign Noriega's petition to stop the smear attacks before they start?

Now here is my question, directed to the Cornyn campaign, and to the “Dogs of War” that these Karl Rovian veteran bashers plan to release this election season:

Are you sure you want a dog in this hunt?

Are you sure that your man, the guy who votes against sending our soldiers the necessary equipment to prevent bodily injury, the guy who votes against veterans benefits, is up to this fight?

Where was John Cornyn when his draft number, number 28, was called on that fateful August day in 1971? When men were called to military service that year, draft numbers up to number 95 were called.

When your country called men of your age group to military service, Senator John Cornyn, where were you?

I have friends who were called up that year. I have relatives that served honorably and were killed in action in Vietnam.

Where. Were. You. John. Cornyn?

Are you sure that your dog will hunt in this? Are you sure that Texans, who are very, very sensitive in this area, want to see a Vietnam chickenhawk attack the military record of a veteran of Afghanistan? What you decided to do back when you were of draft age may have seemed like a good idea then, but how do you suppose it is going to play now? Now that we have men and women fighting and dying overseas again?

Better think again about this one.

Rick Noriega On Daily Kos’ Front Page; Cornyn Has A Story There, Too.

So I was just surfing around looking at the blogs today when I happened onto Daily Kos, and saw that Kos had a huge article on Texas Senatorial candidate Rick Noreiga, right on the front page, but you can find it here, too. I read the whole thing – OK, I skipped the stuff that Richard Morrison wrote on him earlier this year on the original Draft Rick Noriega blog.

Kos wrote a good piece that makes a strong comparison between Rick Noriega's campaign and the races of Tester of Montana and Webb of Virginia. Two states that are very red, but the voters there went with the Democratic challengers rather than the Republican incumbents.

Now what you won’t see on the front page of Daily Kos, at least not yet anyway, is a posting by Libby Shaw. It’s buried back there so just click here for a very interesting read on whether or not John Cornyn pulled a fast one and eluded the draft during the Vietnam Era.

John Cornyn, who is 55, would have been 18 when the Selective Service System’s method of calling up cannon fodder for military service changed to a fair and equitable lottery system. Before that, college age men could escape The Draft by staying in college with their 2-S deferments. In 1971, Cornyn at 19, and all 19 year old men in America, participated in the 1971 lottery. Cornyn’s birthdate of February 2, was drawn with the lottery number 28. That year, 28 was a very low number. The highest lottery number called for service that year was 95.

So John Cornyn, who claims to have applied for and received a student deferment in 1970 did not go to war, even though Libby Shaw pointed out several instances where students who had deferments lost them as the new and fairer system assigned them each lottery numbers.

I am simply beside myself in wonderment.

Beside myself, mainly because of Cornyn’s hawkish stance on Iraq and Iran.

In wonderment because Cornyn, from his own bio on his Senate website, is the son of a career military officer – an army brat no less.

Shaw makes another pointed comment, directed at the mainstream media. There is an inconsistency here in what should have been a cut-and-dried issue. Cornyn should have lost his 2-S deferment, gained his low lottery number, and reported for duty in 1972. That he didn’t, and no one in the mainstream media has been wondering about it tells you something about political power. Shaw even points out an article in the Texas Observer, that while very complementary to Noriega, claims that Cornyn was too young to have to worry about military service. That was very clearly wrong. A little white lie planted out there.

But I think that this little white lie is the thing that started Shaw on her quest for the truth.

A quest that continues . . .

On The Phone With Rick Noriega

So I was on the phone with my future US Senator, Rick Noriega, tonight. It was a blogger family affair. Rick talked for about 23 minutes about where the campaign had been, where it was now, and where it was going. Things to look for.

As I sat and listened, it became clear to me that John Cornyn hasn’t the slightest idea what is going to come at him next year.

Not a clue.

It occurred to me that John Cornyn has tried to distance himself from a president who lies and lies and lies, but the die is cast and the story has already been told.

My conclusion? This race will not be so much a race between Noriega and Cornyn. Cornyn and George Dubya Bush are attached at the hip. It will very much be a referendum on George W. Bush.

And Texans, and that includes Republican Texans, are fighting mad at Bush.

John Cornyn Files for Senate

With his numbers further south than Tierra Del Fuego, the junior senator from Texas filed to appear on the Republican primary ballot in March.

He wants to keep his job.

Now wait a minute. I’ve been writing for some time now that the Republicans would find someplace to stick this political embarrassment, this Bushie rubber stamp, and replace him with someone who might win in November. It must be that the Republican machine is broken, they couldn’t find some place to put him, or that they couldn’t find anyone to run in his place. Those are the only explanations that I can come up with. My expectations have always been that Cornyn, whose approval rating stand at an all time low – rare for a senate incumbent, would get a major appointment that he could not turn down leaving Republicans to put up a candidate who might win.

Or maybe that is still in the works.

Those who attended the news conference that followed his filing were treated to another Republican candidate’s clumsy comment that Cornyn now serves as a justice on the US Supreme Court.

I kid you not. Quoting from the Chron, at the bottom of the piece:

“His background served as a lighter moment at his news conference Saturday as he was introduced by Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, who also filed for re-election.”

"'Now I bring you to the podium a man who obviously served us as a member of the Supreme Court of Texas, attorney general and now serves us as a member of the United States Supreme Court.’"

“Williams was momentarily flustered by the laughter. ‘We're going to give him that one, too.’"

So what are we talking here? A brain fart from a hopelessly hung over Texas Railroad Commissioner or a giant slip of the tongue? And were we spared the indignity of another Bush Supreme Court appointment because Justice Souter refuses to retire until after Bush is gone?

Whatever. Now that it appears that he is running for his job, he has to face the biggest challenger he has ever faced. A veteran of Afghanistan, a soldier who has worked on the border. A state representative who has a progressive legislative record that includes support of health care for children in low income families.

That man is Rick Noriega. Rick, by the way, has a great story, and it is told well in the latest issue of The Texas Observer. It’s a good read.

Bush Coming to Houston to Support John “Rubber Stamp” Cornyn

In a news flash from the Noriega campaign today we get advance word that George Dubya Bush is coming to Houston in 3 days to help his dear old, old friend, rubber stamp and cheerleader John Cornyn.

Remember when he came to Sugar Land last year to support his old, old friend Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (that’s how she spelled her name before she became dehyphenated)? They had a big rally in a hangar at the Sugar Land municipal airport. You had to get tickets. This is not going to be the case this time. Bush is coming to attend 2 fundraiser events that are by invitation only. Location? It’s a secret. If you don’t know you haven’t been invited. Low rollers need not attend. Drop your $4600 in a jar at the door.

This is nonsense. Last week Dick Cheney came to Dallas (Dick Does Dallas?) to raise campaign funds for Cornyn, and guess who didn’t show up? Cornyn! He was too busy in Washington voting to deny children health insurance.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Cornyn voted Bush’s way on SCHIP, and then stole out of town to attend a ceremony at Ripley House. Ripley House is one of four project medical homes run by Texas Children's Hospital. They provide free or reduced cost services to uninsured children. Children that Cornyn had just voted against. The way he is standing there in this photo-op moment, it looks like he voted for SCHIP. What a despicable tool. Votes against the very children whose hospital he then goes to visit them. Says that Texas needs to do a better job of providing health care for “those kids”.

You have to hand it to John Cornyn: in duplicity, he has a corner on the market.

And that’s why Rick Noriega is going to win in November 2008. Rick has the integrity to do what he says he is going to do. Texans know this, or if they don’t, they will.

So what are we going to do about this? I’ll tell you what we are going to do. We are going to raise $50,000 on ActBlue for Rick in the next 3 days. We’re going to turn Dubya’s visit to Houston to support his rubber stamp into a Noriega Campaign Windfall.

They have a new page over on ActBlue set up just for this one fundraiser so go there and make your voice heard and your money count.

Help us stamp out Bush's #1 rubber stamp -- click here to donate towards our $50,000 goal today!

You can also click on the graphic at the top. It takes you to the same place.

Senator Cornyn: I Was For the DREAM Act Before I Voted Against It

In another slap in the faces of children, John Cornyn, the junior senator from Texas, voted to oppose bringing the DREAM Act to the Senate floor for debate. The federal version of the DREAM Act would provide education benefits for the children of illegal immigrants. A path to citizenship pulled right out under the feet of children who are in this country through no fault of their own.

This would be typical Cornyn “rubber stamp” antics except for the fact that, when asked last July, he said that he supported the DREAM Act.

It was in a 30-minute long teleconference between Cornyn and members of La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) last July. This is as reported in the Rio Grande Valley Guardian:

“Cardoso said the teleconference was partially used to garner support the AgJobs bill and the DREAM Act. The AgJobs bill would, in part, allow farm workers to commute for work within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM) Act would, in part, give tuition and financial assistance to certain immigrant children.”

“ ‘I have a record of support for the DREAM Act when it came through the senate judiciary committee. I want to make sure that what it does, is address children who obviously came with their parents,’ Cornyn said, as he participated in the teleconference.‘Most children obviously have no say in the circumstances in which they came to the United States. If there was someway to perhaps provide an opportunity for them to complete their education, and perhaps earn a path to legalization, I think that would be a positive development.’”

“Some LUPE members were dubious about Cornyn’s level of support for the DREAM Act. ‘You say you support it, but are you also willing to express initiative for the issue,’ asked one member.”

“ ‘I think my support is clear. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in getting an immigration bill passed in the last month or so,’ Cornyn countered. ‘Back in 2005 I was co-sponsor of a comprehensive immigration bill that dealt with all aspects of the immigration issue…so you have my assurance that I’m not going to give up working trying to deal with it.’”

This is on Cornyn’s Senate website, explaining his Nay vote for DREAM.

“Unfortunately, this bill had nothing to do with helping children or addressing the critical issue of immigration reform, and everything to do with political posturing and partisan gamesmanship by the Senate Democratic leadership. This lack of seriousness was demonstrated by the decision to prevent any amendments to even be considered, including one that I sought to introduce which would have added a graduation requirement to the bill. If the goal is to promote education and strengthen our skilled workforce, and the proponents of the Durbin bill were serious about that objective, then one has to wonder why the bill did not even require students to complete a degree.”

So there you have it. The junior senator is all FOR the DREAM Act. What he is dead set against are all the senators who are using the legislation as a political football, kicking the educations of kids around so they can show the people how bad, bad, bad the Republicans are.

Or at least that’s what he says . . .

If that’s the case, then surely the Democrats (and some Republicans) in the Senate achieved this goal.

And don’t you find it deliciously ironic that the man Cornyn will face in November ’08 is the Texas State Rep who filed, promoted, and saw passage of Texas’ state version of the DREAM Act? Yep, with all the other things he did, Rick Noriega did that, too.

Both of Texas’ Senators Stand With Bush On Iraq

Perhaps taking a cue from Stephen Hadley, Bush’s National Security advisor who rushed on over to Capitol Hill last week to stem the tide of defectors from Bush’s stand on the War in Iraq, both of Texas’ Senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, have announced their continued support for Bush’s escalation of the war.

Said Hutchison’s staffer:

“Absolutely not. She's been against a date certain for withdrawal from the beginning. ... We need to give the surge time to work. The full complement of 30,000 troops has only been there three weeks. We're seeing good signs in al-Anbar province. There's an offensive going on in Diyala province as we speak. We need to wait and see.”

Said Cornyn:

“It ought to be based on conditions on the ground rather than an arbitrary timetable. We need to give this a little bit of time to see if it can work, and I hope that it does.”

And also this:

“It boils down to how do we win and what constitutes a win. What we hope for and what's important to our national security is that we can stabilize it. ... We don't want to leave any safe havens for groups like al-Qaeda. That ought to be our goal, and I think we're making some progress.”

I see. It’s too soon to tell if “The Surge” is working.

Perhaps the senators from Texas were too busy to read CBS News’ most recent poll. Asked the question “Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?” Americans came back with 23% approving, and 70% disapproving.

To the question “How would you say things are going for the U.S. in its efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq? Would you say things are going very well, somewhat well, somewhat badly, or very badly?” Americans responded Very Well 1%, Somewhat well 21%, Somewhat badly 30%, Very badly 47%.

Truth is, I have never seen Americans so one-minded. Hutchison and Cornyn are so very out of step with the vast majority of Americans on this issue.

And I’ve seen it elsewhere but I’ll say it here, too. No one has united this country more than George W. Bush. He truly is a uniter, not a divider.

Cornyn Vs. The Big Bad Rich Guys

Well it has finally begun, and really early. Remember just a little while ago when Senator John Cornyn from Texas was saying that he wasn’t interested in what or who the Democrats were talking about running against him? That he wouldn’t even start thinking about a campaign until after the primary, when he knew who he was running against?

Remember that? Here’s a reminder. Three paragraphs from the bottom. Go look, I’ll wait.

Well I guess the electioneering has begun in Cornyn’s camp – 245 days before the primary. Just one week after that article came out, John Nau, Cornyn’s statewide campaign manager sent out a letter to Cornyn’s past supporters.

It starts out all syrupy, stuff that moneybags Republicans lap up, then he strikes for the gold:

“Unfortunately, John appears to have drawn a very wealthy personal injury lawyer – Mikal Watts – as a potential opponent.”

“Reminiscent of Tony Sanchez and 2002, last week Mr. Watts chose to send a message to Democrat (sic) primary opponents. In two checks, he gave and loaned his campaign $3.8 million.”

“And that is the purpose of my letter.”

“Would you send John one of the amounts I’ve mentioned on the enclosed reply by June 30th? With your help, we will send a message about the strength of the team supporting our U.S. Senator John Cornyn.”

“John is a very good man who won a focused, positive 2002 campaign. Inthat effort, John’s campaign raised and spent roughly $15 million. His opponent also spent $15 million and benefited from more than $70 million spent by Tony Sanchez to turn out their base.”

Then it ends with a bunch of saccharine, sweet but not nutritious, praise of Cornyn that really makes you want to hurl.

Analysis? First it isn’t “wealthy guy” or “wealthy Democrat”, it’s “wealthy personal injury lawyer”. Now don’t get me wrong, lawyers are good people to have around when there is trouble. I’m not saying they are bad . . . THEY are. Did you like the swift boat campaign against John Kerry? You’re going to love the one against Watts. I’ll bet they’re already looking in closets and under furniture.

Second, Nau brought up Sanchez’ failure to buy the governorship in 2002. But more importantly, he makes the case that Cornyn’s opponent, Ron Kirk, stood to benefit from Sanchez’ GOTV effort and he still didn’t win. Clearly making the case that, in Texas politics, money doesn’t talk.

So Watts is useful to Cornyn’s campaign right now because he can be used as a lever to pry some cash out of the hands of those on his donor list.

Who do you think John Cornyn’s campaign want to run against in November? With Watts as an opponent, Cornyn can deflect and completely alter the conversation. It won’t be about Cornyn’s pro-Bush/Cheney/Rove voting record, as it should be. It’ll be all of those personal side issues that will take center stage. Republicans are very good at sleight of hand campaigns.

Rick Noriega doesn’t have any of that baggage. This is the guy that John Cornyn doesn’t want to run against, not Watts. I can think of no more eloquent way to put this than the words in Don’s letter that I posted yesterday:

On 9-11:

“While John Cornyn politicized 9-11 for partisan political advantage, Lt. Col. Rick Noriega stared down Afghan war lords and helped train Afghan soldiers to fight the Taliban.”

On immigration:

“…a politically inspired fence is not the answer. While Cornyn tried to use the issue for partisan advantage, Rick has worked on the border and in the legislature to find common ground.”

On Katrina:

“…while George Bush and John Cornyn stood around doing photo ops with FEMA director Michael Brown, Rick Noriega, just back from his tour of duty in Afghanistan, volunteered and served as Incident Commander at George Brown Convention Center, managing the rescue efforts for over 30,000 Katrina evacuees.”

Put Noriega in as Cornyn’s opponent, and the Democrats are in the drivers’ seat, defining the conversation. Put Watts in as Cornyn’s opponent, and Watts will be in a row boat with one oar, surrounded by swift boats.

But you know, I could be wrong about this whole thing.

Nah.

Roger Williams Quitting His SecState Job? Why Now?

Straighten me out here. Roger Williams was appointed by Governor Perry to the office of Secretary of State in late 2004, and then Perry was re-elected by 39% of Texans who voted in the November 2006 election. That gives Williams a steady job until at least 2010. Why the early bailout?

According to the Austin American-Statesman article by W. Gardner Selby, Williams is looking to be elected to a statewide office. The article pointed out that a SecState position, which is appointed, not elected, is often a springboard for an elected position.

Williams has made no secret of the fact that he wishes to be a US Senator, and the article goes that if Kay Bailey Hutchison is going to have a try at the Governor’s office in 2010, Williams would want to try for her Senate seat.

But that’s 3 years down the road. That’s a lot of time for Texans to forget who Roger Williams is (or, more to the point, was).

There must be some other statewide office that he can run for in 2008, right? Wrong. All the executive or statewide offices are voted on in non-presidential even numbered years.

So we come back around to the original question, why now? So he can go back to Weatherford and sell more cars and trucks?

I don’t know about you, but I think something’s afoot here, and I don’t mean 12 inches. Wouldn’t it be ever so convenient that John Cornyn gets appointed to replace Alberto Gonzales who decides to resign rather than put the Bush Administration through all the ordeals of the Senate’s “No Confidence Vote”? He can’t carry on the business of the Attorney General anymore so for the good of the Bush Administration he resigns? Cornyn takes his spot, Perry appoints Williams to serve out Cornyn’s term (and Williams incidentally decides to run for re-election in ‘08).

Bait and switch.

I’ve been known to be wrong before, but I thought that I’d just throw that out as a possibility.