Tag Archives: John Cornyn

political news

Paxton didn’t get a mandate in that GOP runoff

Before the MAGA morons who supported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Republican runoff victory over John Cornyn get too full of themselves, allow me to briefly put a this victory into some perspective.

Yes, the AG scored a decisive victory, beating the U.S. senator by 27 percentage points in the runoff. However, Paxton only tallied about 12,000 more votes in the runoff than he got in the GOP primary.

The runoff turnout fell into the basement compared to the already low primary turnout. That, by itself, is not unusual. Republicans, though, do not appear to be too enthused by someone topping their ticket who is so heavily damaged by political and personal scandal as Paxton.

Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, is divorcing him on “biblical grounds,” which is a sort of shorthand for all extramarital affairs he’s had. His top legal aides blew the whistle on him for alleged unethical behavior. A Collin County grand jury indicted him on charges of securities fraud. Texas Republicans impeached him in the Texas House.

And so, Texas Democrats are licking their chops waiting for the fall campaign to begin. Their Senate candidate, state Rep. James Talarico, is a choir boy compared to the AG.

As for Sen. Cornyn, do you really believe he is going to campaign for the MAGA dipshit who defeated him?

political news, State news

Cornyn wins Charade Gamer of the Year award

I never saw this one coming, but it’s here and today I want to bestow on a veteran Texas senator an award he wouldn’t like receiving but he’s going to get it anyway.

Republican John Cornyn is the winner of the High Plains Blogger Charade Gamer of the Year award. How did he earn this honor?

The nature of his political campaign for re-election to the Senate makes it sound as if Donald Trump endorsed him in the upcoming GOP runoff election and not his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Texans have been “treated” to TV ads showing the MAGA meister in chief heaping praise on Cornyn for all the work he did to secure our borders, fight crime and back Trump’s political agenda. Cornyn tells us he “voted with Trump 99% of the time,” and worked to appoint conservative judges to the federal bench.

It’s a sham, man!

Paxton drew Trump’s endorsement because he’s a MAGA moron through and through. Paxton’s own ads show Trump spouting those meaningless platitudes about Paxton. He calls the AG a “winner,” a “great guy.” No mention of his work as attorney general. Not a word specifically citing a particular policy.

Cornyn, though, continues to campaign as if he’s the candidate who garnered POTUS’s endorsement.

I don’t have a dog in this fight. I’m not voting in the GOP runoff. My hope rests with the Democratic nominee, Texas state Rep. James Talarico. However, my ears aren’t deceiving me. John Cornyn sounds like the guy blazing to the finish line with the cherished endorsement of Donald the Crook.

It’s all phony … just like the POTUS.

national news

Yes, on ‘career pols’!

I am going to stand briefly and speak well of a sub-species of human beings who, in my view, are vilified too often simply because of the profession the choose to pursue.

I am talking about your run-of-the-mill “career politician.”

One of the latest victims of this ill-informed epithet happens to be U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Republican who’s in the fight of his political life trying to fend off a challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who wants the seat Cornyn has occupied on Capitol Hill.

The TV ads Paxton is running refer to Cornyn derisively as a career politician. I am weary of that put-down of men and women who choose a career in public service.

I say this being well aware of the scoundrels among us who take more than they give back. There happen to career pols who are in it for themselves. We also have bankers, lawyers, insurance brokers and any number of private professions full of individuals who don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone other than themselves. Politicians, though, become fair game because they do so while collecting public money, taxpayers’ money, to do their jobs.

Think for a moment of those who forgo private-sector careers — where they could earn many times the salary they collect in public office — and choose instead to pursue less lucrative careeer in public life.

Don’t call me a Pollyanna because I choose to stand for those who serve the public. My eyes are open to what I know exists in the world of politics. I merely am trying to cling what is left of the nobility of a profession where its practitioners mean it when they take an oath to serve the public good.

political news, State news

Now the fun really begins

As if the U.S. Senate runoff between Republicans John Cornyn and Ken Paxton could get more fascinating …

Well, it did with the endorsement today of the Texas attorney general over the incumbent U.S. senator by none other than Donald J. Trump. This is the kind of news that fills me with — oh, I don’t know — a mixture of outrage and cautious optimism.

I now will set the table briefly. I did not vote in the GOP primary in early May. I cast my vote for the winner of the Democratic nomination, Austin state Rep. James Talarico. I am standing foursquare behind this young man.

Trump’s endorsement of Paxton is a statement in favor of the moronic MAGA movement that continues to roil the Republican Party. If you’re a MAGA moron, then Paxton’s your guy. The AG has been snared by scandal after scandal since his election to statewide office in 2014. During his impeachment and subsequent trial over myriad corruption charges, we learned about Paxton’s extramarital affairs. His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, had enough and filed for divorce on what she called “biblical grounds.” We all know what that means.

The Cornyn campaign already has introduced that aspect of Paxton’s past into the runoff campaign. It’s gotten ugly. It is going to get a whole lot uglier. Believe me!

The runoff is set for a few days from now. Polls across the spectrum show Talarico within spitting distance of Cornyn … and actually leading Paxton.

A part of me is enraged by Trump’s endorsement of a deeply flawed candidate over a principled conservative who on occasion has reached across the aisle to work with Democrats on legislation. That’s a non-starter for your average MAGA dipshit.

However, on the other side we well could have the real prospect of Texas voters getting to decide whether they want a scarred GOP senator or a fresh voice who speaks with crystal clarity. Talarico is the rare Democrat who doesn’t shove his Christian faith to the back of the shelf. He talks about it with pride, but also warns of the dangers of “Christian nationalism” that seeks to turn the United States of America into a theological state … which is something the founders expressly forbade when they wrote the Constitution.

Let us see how this GOP runoff plays out, shall we? I sense we are headed for a wild ride to the finish.

Uncategorized

Talarico: the real Democratic deal!

James Talarico has emerged as the latest political star in Texas and he hopes to parlay his standing into a successful career in Congress.

The man has my support and I am about to explain why.

Talarico is a man of deep Christian faith. He wears his faith plainly and professes it from the campaign stump. He’s a Presbyterian seminary student and he has a graduate degree in economics. He’s a smart guy.

Talarico’s faith, though, carries an important caveat that he’s also proud to display. Talarico understands what the founders intended when they drafted the nation’s governing document. They intended to create a secular state free of religious influence. James Talarico gets it … and endorses the founders’ intention.

He has emerged as a fierce foe of Christian nationalists, those who seek to turn the U.S.A. into a Christian nation.

I guess I favor Talarico because he and I share the same view of the religion to which we both profess our faith. I practice my faith with enthusiasm, but am reluctant to shove it down the throats of others.

I want Talarico to succeed in his quest to win a U.S. Senate seat. If he defeats Sen. John Cornyn in the fall, I suspect it will occur because voters have grown weary of D.C.-centered politicians like Cornyn passing laws we all must follow. If he manages to beat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, it well might be because Texans are disgusted with the way Paxton has conducted himself in the decade he has served in statewide elected office.

Talarico is a new breed of Texas Democrat, which in its way mirrors the way Democrats here used to present themselves.

The Democratic Senate nominee has time to refine his message, to fine-tune the manner in which he intends to deliver it. I also want him to ensure to keep the many promises he no doubt will make as he travels the length and breadth of this great state.

Many of us are waiting, James Talarico.

Donald Trump, State news

Cornyn’s time as senator is up?

If I were a betting man — and I damn sure am not — I might be inclined to think that Sen. John Cornyn is facing a serious challenge to his once-storied congressional career.

He’s going to face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on May 26 in a runoff election for the Senate seat Cornyn has occupied seemingly since The Flood. Why the gloomy outlook?

Cornyn finished first in a three-way Republican Party primary, winning 42% of the vote. Paxton finished second with 41%. Third place went to U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, who collected 13%.

Paxton and Hunt both paint Cornyn as a RINO, a ridiculous assertion on its face. If there is a more dedicated Republican in the Senate than Cornyn, I do not know who that would be. Indeed, Paxton and Donald Trump, his bestie in the White House, are the real Republicans in name only.

So, with the field narrowed to the top two GOP finishers, it falls on Paxton to seek Hunt voters to close the narrow gap between him and Cornyn. If the Hunt crowd is as MAGA gullible as I suspect they are, Paxton should have little trouble rounding up the support he needs to send Cornyn packing.

And what about Paxton? The guy is ethically challenged, to state the obvious. He was indicted early during his time as AG by a Collin County grand jury of securities trading allegations. He was supposed to go to trial long ago, but skated free of that episode. Several key legal aides quit the AG’s office and accused Paxton of corruption. The Republican-dominated House of Reps impeached Paxton, who then avoided conviction in the Texas Senate when Republican senators declined to follow their House colleagues’ lead.

If Paxton should manage to win the runoff, he will face a seriously rising star in the Texas Democratic Party, state Rep. James Talarico, who I will guess is dying to run against the ethically challenged AG.

We have just witnessed the opening act of a yearlong political drama. It’s going to get a whole lot rougher as we move on through the year. And if I were running the Democrat’s campaign, I just might be drooling at the chance to take on Ken Paxton.

First things first. Paxton has to win the GOP runoff. Here’s hoping for a donnybrookl

political news, State news

This could be the guy

All right, boys and girls, I want to extol the virtues of a young man I find highly attractive as a candidate for public office, but I will stop far short of predicting he will attain that office in 2026.

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico of Austin is running for the U.S. Senate held by John Cornyn, the San Antonio Republican who now is bragging about how closely he works with the nation’s felon in chief, Donald Trump.

Where to begin about Talarico? I will start with his history as a Presbyterian seminarian. He is a former school teacher. He detests Christian nationalism, calling it “a cancer on our religion.” Talarico has called Christian nationalism “the worship of power — social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ” and has accused Christian nationalists of turning Jesus “into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist”, arguing that it is “incumbent on all Christians to confront it and denounce it” in a 2023 guest sermon that has more than 1 million views on YouTube..

Talarico is being hailed by Democrats as a potential party rescuer. It remains to be seen, of course, whether he will collect enough stroke to take office in January 2027.

But here is what makes him so attractive to voters such as me. He doesn’t hide his faith. He touts it proudly, but he also understands that we should practice our faith in houses of worship, not shove it down the throats of every Texan … even those who do not worship a deity.

He opposes Republican efforts to display the Ten Commandments in public places, such as county courthouses and public schools. He calls such displays “un-Christian” and “un-American.” Talarico understands what should be obvious to anyone who reads the Constitution, that the founders created a secular nation and they wrote zero references to Christianity or Jesus Christ in the nation’s governing document.

Will this young man knock the veteran pol out of office? I am going to hope it happens.

political news, State news

Is this young man the one?

For a good while I have been yammering about the need for the major political parties to rally around an unknown politician, someone who emerges suddenly with a fresh voice, spoken from a fresh perspective.

I believe the Texas Democratic Party has a chance to bring such a young man to the foreftont of the political stage.

If you haven’t heard the name James Talarico, my hunch is that you will quite soon. Talarico brings a perspective to Democratic politics one likely didn’t see coming. He’s a deeply devoted and faithful Christian. He leans heavily on New Testament Scripture to illustrate his policy stances. Talarico taught school in San Antonio. He now serves in the Texas House of Representatives and is standing for general Democratic principles while waging fights with his Republican colleagues.

I like this young man’s approach to problem solving. I like it a lot!

My former favorite for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate race in 2026 is former congressman Colin Allred, who boasted continually in 2024 about his strong polling against Sen. Ted Cruz … only to lose by double digits on Election Day. Allred is making another run at the U.S. Senate. I wish him well, but I am leaning heavily toward James Talarico.

I am not naive. It is going to take a monstrous effort by Talarico to overturn decades of GOP dominance in statewide elective public office. It seems to be his best course toward victory would be if Republicans nominate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a man with more political wounds than any politician I have ever seen. He’s been attacked by his own AG staff, impeached by the Texas House, divorced by his wife because he cheated on her. This guy is seriously damaged.

I cannot find that kind of blemish on Talarico’s record. I do see a young man who is unafraid to proclaim his religious faith … but he doesn’t support the Christian nationalist agenda of melding religion into government policy. He wants to keep religion where it belongs, in houses of worship, and away from public schools, county courthouses and city halls.

He has jumped out of the tall grass and will seek to do the seemingly impossible in a state where Republicans stand tall over the political landscape. I am going to do what I can to help James Talarico advance his message.

political news, State news

Texas primaries to take center stage in 2026

You read that headline correctly … it says “primaries” because both major parties appear set to field two utterly fascinating primary contests for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John Cornyn.

Cornyn is running for his umpteenth term after serving as Texas attorney general and a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. His GOP challenger appears to be Attorney General Ken Paxton, the nimrod who was impeached by the Texas House and has been the subject of ethics complaints and investigations since he took office in 2015.

Cornyn already is going after Paxton hammer and tong. His campaign allies point out that Paxton has been sued by former senior staff lawyers at the AG’s office, his wife — state Sen. Angela Paxton — is divorcing him on “Biblical grounds” (translation: she accuses the AG of cheating on her) and that he has become an embarrassment to the party, to the state and to Texans in general. Cornyn’s own campaign touts his closeness to Donald Trump, saying he has supported Trump’s agenda more than 99% of the time.

Paxton is a MAGA favorite; Cornyn, not so much. Paxton jumped out to an early lead, but Cornyn appears to be chipping away at Paxton’s advantage.

This one, ladies and gentleman, is going to be a barn burner.

Then we have the Democratic primary for the Senate.

Colin Allred, the former Dallas congressman and former college and pro football player, lost to Ted Cruz in 2024. He’s back in the game. I like this young man. He is earnest and forthright.

But he has a mystery challenger who well could provide the most excitement of either primary campaign. He is state Sen. James Talarico, who is running a faith-based campaign that touts his Christian beliefs. Let’s see, the last Democrat of any note I can recall running such a campaign was, hmm, the late Jimmy Carter, who in 1976 emerged from nowhere to win the Democratic presidential nomination and then defeat President Gerald Ford’s bid for election.

Talarico points out Jesus Christ’s teachings of loving one’s foes, of giving shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry and how Christians who adhere to Christ’s word should carry that belief into the realm of public policy.

Of the four men I have singled out, only one of them deserves my scorn: Paxton. The other three all understand government, its limitations and appreciate the nobility of public service. However, I am going to watch with great interest as both of these primary contests take shape.

State news

Cornyn says Trump can’t win? Hah! Ya think?

The minute I heard about what Sen. John Cornyn said about Donald Trump’s chances of become POTUS once again, I thought instantly of a friend of mine in Amarillo … who called Cornyn a RINO.

I chuckled when my friend said such nonsense, because Cornyn is nothing of the sort. The San Antonio native is as rock-ribbed a Republican as you’ll find. He just happens to believe that the GOP is going to lose the 2024 presidential election if it nominates the twice-impeached former POTUS to run against President Biden.

It’s time, Cornyn said, to nominate someone without all the baggage that Trump is lugging around. Starting with the very real probability he is facing multiple future indictments for criminal activity.

Frankly, I don’t know why I am even remotely concerned about any of this. I try like heck to shove Trump aside. I am refusing to comment on every single lie that flies out of his pie-hole.

It’s just that when a solid GOP politician such as John Cornyn says Trump would take his party down the drain, the party ought to heed the advice this Texas wise man has to deliver.

Then again, were he to run for POTUS yet again, maybe it’s good that he would lose once more.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com