NRSC Chairman, John Cornyn, Spends $750,000 to Continue Recount, Legal Challenges

by: Matt Glazer

Wed May 20, 2009 at 10:06 AM CDT

According to Washington Post's "The Fix", Cornyn has decided he would rather spend donor money to help former Senator Norm Coleman pay legal bills than compete in elections.

NRSC Aids Coleman Recount Effort: The National Republican Senatorial Committee has committed $750,000 to former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman to help cover the vast legal expenses incurred during the former incumbent's lengthy challenge to the election results of his race against Democrat Al Franken. Sources familiar with the move said it should not be read as a down payment for a prolonged Coleman legal battle at the federal level if he loses his ongoing challenge before the Minnesota Supreme Court but rather a good faith effort to keep him from going into massive debt.

As the Minnesota Progressive Report's Joe Bodell wisely notes:

The financial numbers flying around this legal process are dizzying -- but I look at it this way. The more the NRSC is spending on keeping Coleman's challenge going, the less they're going to have to spend on protecting their vulnerable seats in 2010 -- of which there are going to be several.

Cornyn and other Republican leaders began urging donors to give directly to Coleman almost a week ago, and have thrown in $750,000 of the NRSC's money too more legal challenges.  That is an impressive waste of money for a person who is no longer elected and is not on the ballot for at least 6 years. Let the people of Minnesota have both of their Senators... Senator.

There is some good news for Big John.  Soon, Cornyn will become the Senior Senator from Texas.  Cornyn has shown he is having a difficult time managing the NRSC and it's spending, and without an election, Cornyn has seen his numbers dwindle to 40 GOP Senators.  Perhaps this is the best news Cornyn will get this year (or next). The worst part for Cornyn is, his good news comes with losing one more Republican Senator.