Tag Archives: John Cornyn

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Cornyn running against … President Obama?

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has just let Texans know how seriously he views the challenge from his right.

Not very seriously at all, or so it appears.

Cornyn has released a TV spot that talks not about any of the people running against him in the March 4 Republican primary. He blasts President Obama.

http://wordpress.com/read/blog/feed/12395410/

It’s not surprising, perhaps, to see this kind of strategy begin to play out. The more a powerful incumbent says about an opponent, the more publicity the opponent gets. I refer to U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, who’s emerging as the chief primary challenger to Cornyn.

The incumbent isn’t about to give Stockman any mention at all. Why should he? Doing so elevates Stockman’s profile; it gives him attention; it provides him with grist of his own to use against Cornyn.

It doesn’t hurt that Cornyn is holding up the president as a “foe,” given Barack Obama’s unpopularity among most Texans.

The language in the ad is harsh. In my view it’s overly harsh, but that’s just me.

However, it makes for extremely smart politics from John Cornyn.

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Stockman’s killin’ me with these fake endorsements

Steve Stockman’s campaign for the U.S. Senate is barely off the ground and already he’s cracking me up.

The latest is that the freshman congressman from the Texas Gulf Coast is touting endorsements that do not exist. He’s never had them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/05/steve-stockman-endorsements_n_4545219.html?ref=topbar

My favorite “endorsement” that Stockman claims comes from the National Rifle Association, which in fact has endorsed incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Stockman’s opponent in this March’s Republican primary.

This clown is amazing.

Another good one is Stockman’s claim that conservative activist — the late Howard Phillips — has backed his candidacy. One problem: Phillip died seven months before Stockman declared his intention to challenge Cornyn.

This is precisely the kind of thing that should sink a goofball such as Stockman.

However …

In this zany political climate, I’m not going to take all of this to the bank just yet. Strange things can and do happen within the Republican Party.

I’ll be holding my breath until we get all the ballots counted on March 4.

When I do draw a breath, I’ll likely be laughing at Steve Stockman’s idiotic pronouncements.

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You got change for a Bitcoin?

Bitcoins have become a form of currency that some of us — myself included — need to understand.

As of this moment, I don’t quite get it.

That makes the decision by Republican U.S. senatorial candidate Steve Stockman to accept campaign contributions in this manner all the more bizarre — as if Stockman himself isn’t bizarre enough.

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/01/03/stockman-enters-legal-grey-area-bitcoin-donations/

It’s called “virtual currency,” kind of like virtual video games. You pay it by swiping some computer image across a scanner that records the amount and logs it into a data base. The Texas Tribune reports that Stockman told Business Insider that he would accept contributions in this form and then confirmed it on Twitter and Facebook.

Stockman’s candidacy against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is a long shot to begin with. He’s challenging the senior senator in the Republican primary this March. His chances of winning are slim and none, but it’s the slim part that worries many of us, given Stockman’s proclivity for goofy statements oddball policy stances.

The Tribune notes correctly that Stockman has flouted campaign finance laws already. He fired staffers and has faced questions about how money moves around his campaign coffers.

The Bitcoin makes it easier for contributors to give anonymously, so one might be unable to judge the motives behind the contribution.

Stockman calls the digital currency issue a matter of “freedom.” I prefer to think that accountability ought to matter as well.

If you give to a candidate, put your name on it, own up to it … for the record. Then let others determine whose interests are being served.

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Hoping Stockman flames out

My fond hope is that Paul Burka is right that Steve Stockman’s candidacy will vaporize after the March Republican primary.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/steve-stockman-non-story

It’s not that I’m terribly fond of Sen. John Cornyn.

Here’s my concern.

A victory by Stockman, a congressman who has become a GOP tea party golden boy, could spell doom if he manages to win this fall against whomever the Democrats nominate. You see, Texas is so solidly Republican — even with strong Democratic candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor this year — that Stockman could win this fall even with his loony record in Congress.

Burka is betting on Cornyn “wiping the floor” with Stockman.

I hope that’s true. Given what I know about both of these guys, Cornyn is the far superior Republican nominee.

As they say, though, stranger things can — and do — happen.

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GOP fights with itself

I remember a time when Democrats were the fractious bunch and Republicans all held hands and sang off the same page.

That was, oh, about 40 years ago. The times they are a-changin’.

Now it’s the Republicans’ turn to fight among themselves. Democrats have locked arms and aren’t exactly crying crocodile tears over their “friends” troubles on the other side of the aisle.

Boehner-right fight moves to Senate

GOP House Speaker John Boehner stuck it in the tea party wing’s eye the other day after the House passed the bipartisan budget bill worked out under the leadership of Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Democratic Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray.

Now it’s the Senate’s turn to approve the deal and, one can hope, start the nation toward a long-term repair of its budget problems. I’m not holding my breath for that to occur.

Republican senators are taking heat from their so-called “base,” aka the tea party, over their willingness to compromise with those dreaded Democrats. Many key Republicans aren’t being intimidated. “I’ve said for a long time that there are some outside groups who do what they do solely to raise money,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. “I’m glad that people are wising up.”

One GOP senator, Texan John Cornyn, is going to get a primary challenge from U.S. Steve Stockman, who might be among the looniest of the tea party types to serve in Congress. I’ll predict right now that by the time the March primary rolls around, Cornyn will be seen by many Americans — perhaps even me — as a true statesman when compared to the kookiness of Stockman’s pronouncements.

The Cornyn-Stockman fight symbolizes what’s happening to a once-great political party. It might be helpful for Republicans to have this fight, just as it cleansed Democrats of bitterness back in the 1970s. Of course, Democrats had some help from a Republican president, Richard Nixon, who got entangled in the cover-up that occurred after that “third-rate burglary” at the Watergate office complex.

For now, I’m going to watch Republicans gnaw on each others’ legs.

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Tea party faces big test in Texas next year

Ross Ramsey has put together another fascinating analysis for the Texas Tribune about the upcoming Republican Party primary race for the U.S. Senate in Texas.

It involves the incumbent, John Cornyn and a loudmouthed challenger, U.S Rep. Steve Stockman of Friendswood.

Stockman is a tea party favorite who’s decided to give up his House seat for a shot at Cornyn’s Senate seat. Good luck with that.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/13/senate-race-sound-and-fury-signifying-what/

Ramsey puts forth the view that Stockman’s candidacy may provide significant data on just how strong the tea party is in Texas. He notes that Ted Cruz knocked off Lt. David Dewhurst in 2012 to win the GOP nomination to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Stockman could do the same with Cornyn. I doubt it’s going to happen. At least I hope it doesn’t happen.

I’m trying to imagine Texas being represented by Ted Cruz and Steve Stockman in the same Senate chamber. Have mercy on us.

I didn’t have the honor of covering Stockman back in the mid-1990s when he was serving his first term in the House. He won that seat in 1994 by knocking off the legendary Democratic stalwart Jack Brooks of Beaumont. After watching the campaign from my post in Beaumont, I left the Gulf Coast for the Texas Panhandle in January 1995. My successor at the Beaumont Enterprise, Tom Taschinger, had the distinct pleasure of watching Stockman up close during his single term in Congress; he lost his seat in 1996 to Democrat Nick Lampson. My pal has written an equally interesting commentary detailing the folly of electing Stockman to the Senate.

Here it is:

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/opinions/columns/article/THOMAS-TASCHINGER-Stockman-faces-gigantic-odds-5063347.php

I’ll go out on a limb here and suggest that Texas Republicans know better than to knock off a senior GOP senator with substantial conservative credibility in favor of a goofball who didn’t distinguish himself the first time he served in the House — and who has done even worse during this second tour of duty in Congress.

It is true that David Dewhurst got blindsided by Ted Cruz in 2012. I’m pretty sure John Cornyn will keep his eyes wide open as he hits the campaign trail against Steve Stockman.

Look for the mud to start flying soon.

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Cornyn vs. um, Stockman? Seriously?

Politico reports that several key Republican U.S. senators will face tea party challengers this coming year, and that John Cornyn of Texas is the latest to draw a challenge from the far right wing of his party.

I heard about this possibility on Monday and almost cannot believe what has transpired.

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman of Friendswood (near Houston) has announced he won’t run for a second term in the House of Representatives and instead will run for Cornyn’s Senate seat.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/tea-party-gop-senators-100988.html?hp=t1_3

Utterly … amazing.

Stockman has joined the roster of ridiculousness among Texas members of Congress since his return to the House after the 2012 election. He’s done almost everything possible to make himself a non-serious legislator. He’s yapped about impeaching the president over unspecified “high crimes and misdemeanors.” His campaign staff has gotten itself into a jam over allegedly misspending campaign money.

I should note that Stockman served a single term in the House from 1995 to 1997 before he was defeated for re-election. He had knocked off the late House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jack Brooks, the crusty Democrat from Beaumont — who, by the way, used to be my congressman when I lived and worked in the Ninth Congressional District.

I won’t say Stockman is an idiot. He just made idiotic statements.

Senior Republicans are finding themselves engaged in this intraparty struggle against insurgent who believe the louder they complain the more points they score.

Stockman says Cornyn didn’t fight hard enough to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Stockman’s conservatism is taking on a ferociousness that makes Cornyn look reasonable and measured … even though Cornyn’s job as the No. 2 man in the Senate is to knock off Democrats whenever he can.

Cornyn describes Stockman’s campaign as comprising “pretty thin gruel.” Boy, howdy.

At least it’ll be entertaining.

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Cornyn offers insulting tweet on Iran deal

I’ve long thought that U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was a serious man.

Then came this response to the deal brokered over the weekend involving Iran’s nuclear development program.

“Amazing what WH will do to distract attention from O-care”

http://blogs.star-telegram.com/politex/2013/11/sen-cornyns-iran-tweet-sparks-reaction-in-twitter-sphere.html

Huh? That was the response from the senior U.S. Republican senator from the great state of Texas?

So, in Cornyn’s mind an agreement that seeks to guide Iran toward a dismantling of its nuclear program, protect Israel — our nation’s most stalwart Middle East ally — and restore some semblance of stability in one of the world’s most explosive regions is a mere “distraction”?

Cornyn’s tweet drew some harsh response, some of which was equally unfair.

My larger point, though, is that Sen. Cornyn should know better than to suggest an intense negotiation involving the United States, Iran and several other great world powers is some kind of political feint to take interest away from an unrelated domestic policy dispute.

Ridiculous.

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Two senators: same ideology, different styles

Ross Ramsey’s analysis of Texas’s two Republican U.S. senators reminded me of a political truism authored by none other than the late President Richard Nixon.

Nixon, who essentially wrote the modern political playbook, used to say that candidates run to their extremes during the primary and tack toward the center in the general election. The president’s theory applied to Democrats and Republicans.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/25/senate-matter-style/

That might work in most eras and in most states. Not in Texas. Not now.

Ramsey, the editor of the Texas Tribune, says Sen. John Cornyn has stepped right out of “central casting” to be a U.S. senator. White hair, former judge, former state attorney general, handsome features. “Soft face.” He says Sen. Ted Cruz presents a different image. Black hair. Fiery temperament. He’s a TV camera hustler.

Cornyn is running for re-election this year. He might face a serious challenge from his right, from the tea party — aka the wacko — wing of his party. Why? Mainly because he opposed Cruz’s tactic of tying Affordable Care Act funding with the government shutdown earlier this year.

Cornyn is a virtual shoo-in for re-election. To secure his party’s nomination in the spring, he’ll have to say all the right things. He might even have to harden that soft face of his while saying them. He’ll blast the ACA to smithereens. He’ll say mean things about Democrats in general. He might even accuse the president of being something other than a true-blue American.

In another time, though, Cornyn then would veer toward the middle, saying more reasonable things. He would talk about his desire to reach across the aisle to work his “friends on the other side.” He might even mention that he is pals with a few of those Democrats.

But these days, in Texas, the Nixon Axiom no longer seems to matter. Cornyn likely will stay focused on the far right. He might even get more inflammatory as the campaign progresses into the summer and fall of 2014. That’s because so many Texas votes seem comfortable with their senators tossing bombs.

Look at Cruz’s popularity among Texas Republican at this moment. If you’re a Texas politician, all that seems to matter is whether the GOP faithful will stand with you.

All of this could play out as described here, except for one possible factor: whether Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis’s campaign for governor gins up enough support among women angry at the GOP’s stance on abortion rights. I’m not predicting that will happen.

However, if it does, then President Nixon’s general election strategy is back in play.

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Sen. Cornyn touts GOP ‘family’

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has launched his re-election campaign with a pledge to seek unity within the Republican Party “family.”

Good luck with that one, senator.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/15/cornyn-touts-big-tent-gop-perry/

Cornyn’s bid for another term in the Senate is likely to succeed next fall. It well might occur with some bumps and bruises along the way.

He spoke at a campaign rally this week of his disagreement with fellow Republican Sen. Ted Cruz over Cruz’s effort to derail the Affordable Care Act; that effort, which included the fake filibuster on the Senate floor, helped produce the 16-day partial government shutdown.

“We had a minor disagreement in the family” over the government shutdown debate, Cornyn said. But, by golly, he intends to work to ensure that Texas doesn’t elect a “Nancy Pelosi clone” as governor, meaning Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis.

Cornyn and other Republicans, though, keep talking about the so-called “big tent” philosophy they say describes the Republican Party. The big tent, they say, has produced the disagreements within the party. The tea party wing of the GOP, however, hardly seems inclusive of folks Republicans will need to win national elections in the future. I refer, of course, to immigrants, racial minorities, gays, pro-choice women and those who rely on government assistance to help them put food on their tables and clothes on their children’s backs.

Having said all these negative things about Cornyn’s party, allow me to say that I happen to like the senator. I’ve met with him many times over many years, dating back to when he ran for the Texas Supreme Court, state attorney general and then during his time as U.S. senator. We always got along well.

I fear, though, that he’s going to tack too far to the right to protect his flank against those might attack him from the extreme fringes of his party. They’re out there, waiting for the chance to draw blood.

All this unity talk, therefore, is just that. Talk.