Burnt Orange Report

Cornyn for Supreme Court?

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Coming out of right field (because there is little that is left about John Cornyn) is this story that Texas Senator John Cornyn is simply "flattered" that people think he's make a good nominee for Supreme Court Justice.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is flattered to be mentioned as a possible Supreme Court candidate and would consider the job if it were offered.

"You can never rule out something like that, but it is not something he is looking for or something he has asked for," spokesman Don Stewart said.

Stewart said Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and state attorney general, likely will run for re-election in 2008.

The White House has kept quiet on its choices for the Supreme Court, which will have a vacancy if ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist steps down. The short list often includes J. Michael Luttig, a Texan on the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, another former Texas justice.

Among the Texans thought to be in a second tier of possible candidates are Cornyn and U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa.

Of course, picking a sitting Senator (slightly better than picking your nose) helps Bush's chances of getting his nominee through, gasp, the Senate Judiciary Committee which Cornyn, gasp, is a member of! Then again, picking Cornyn means that Governor "Don't you dare run against me" Perry would get to anoint appoint a replacement. And that little issue makes this story particularly juicy, as if the Texas Republican "which office should I run for" dance wasn't complicated enough.

Maybe KBH could become Governor, and then appoint herself back to the Senate if she realized it wasn't all that it's cracked up to be. At which point Perry could battle off Strayhorn in a special election for Guv. Oh, the possibilities are endless...