Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas thought Miers was a "wonderful choice" in 2005, but today she "has some concerns over Elena Kagan's lack of judicial experience."
Five years ago, Cornyn and Hutchison portrayed Bush nominee Harriet Miers as a welcomed change to a Supreme Court filled with career judges. Miers, by almost any measurement, was historically underqualified to be a justice.
But that did not matter to Cornyn or Hutchison. The Republican party line in 2005 was that Miers -- whose resume outside of the Bush White House included stints as chair of the Texas Lottery Commission and two years on the Dallas City Council -- was qualified to be nominated to the Supreme Court. In turn, that was their opinion.
Had John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison decided five years ago to declare Miers to be unqualified (which ultimately became the national consensus) they might have some credibility left to criticize Kagan for her lack of judicial experience.
The facts are really just embarrassing for Cornyn and Hutchison, as they often are. Five years ago they enthusiastically backed a mid-level White House staffer with zero judicial experience. Now, with President Obama in the White House, they have decided that a former dean of Harvard Law School and U.S. solicitor general lacks the necessary experience.
Apparently, in the eyes of John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Lottery Commission and Dallas City Hall are better training grounds for a future Supreme Court Justice than Harvard Law School or the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sen. John Cornyn had this to say about President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan earlier today:
There is no doubt that Ms. Kagan possesses a first-rate intellect, but she is a surprising choice from a president who has emphasized the importance of understanding "how the world works and how ordinary people live." Ms. Kagan has spent her entire professional career in Harvard Square, Hyde Park, and the DC Beltway. These are not places where one learns "how ordinary people live." Ms. Kagan is likewise a surprising choice because she lacks judicial experience. Most Americans believe that prior judicial experience is a necessary credential for a Supreme Court Justice.
Of course, Cornyn's statement is historically shortsighted. There is a long tradition (though not since William Rehnquist died) of Supreme Court justices without prior judicial experience. Notable 20th century justices such as Earl Warren, Byron White and Tom Clark joined the high court without having previously served as judge. Every president from FDR to Nixon nominated a justice without prior experience as a judge.
Individuals without prior judicial experience bring different perspectives to the Court. For the first time in years, the Supreme Court has been filled completely with career judges since John Roberts replaced Rehnquist. The addition of a new perspective should be welcomed, as it has been dozens of times in American history.
What makes Cornyn's statement even worse though is the ridiculous double standard it exposes. Here is what Cornyn had to say about Bush Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers and whether it was impossible for non-judges to reach the Court.
Well, I certainly hope that's not the case, and it shouldn't be the case.
I mean, one reason I felt so strongly about Harriet Miers's qualifications is I thought she would fill some very important gaps in the Supreme Court. Because right now you have people who've been federal judges, circuit judges most of their lives, or academicians. And what you see is a lack of grounding in reality and common sense that I think would be very beneficial.
What's worse is that Miers was underqualified for the position by any historical standard. As Salon's Mike Madden wrote today, "Miers had a long history of working for George W. Bush, and a brief career in the White House." Kagan's experience is far more impressive, including time as solicitor general, dean of Harvard law school and in the Clinton White House.
Kagan's nomination could have its flaws, but Cornyn is not articulating him. He is doing what he does best; he is playing politics. Instead of supporting the common sense move to "fill some very important gaps in the Supreme Court," Cornyn is reverting to just repeating Republican talking points.
Cornyn and McConnell's trip was easy to criticize. In reality, it appeared to be much more a fundraising expedition than a policy discussion.
Over the weekend, President Obama weighed in on the two senators' pow-wow with Wall Street.
"The Senate Republican Leader, he paid a visit to Wall Street a week or two ago. He took the chairman of their campaign committee. He met with some of the movers and shakers up there. I don't know exactly what was discussed. All I can tell you is when he came back, he promptly announced he would opposed the financial regulatory reform."
"The president, frankly, was demeaning himself and his office by making political attacks against Sen. McConnell and me when what we were trying to do was learn more about a complex topic from people who actually know something about it."
Cornyn has consistently put his job as NRSC chair above his duties as a senator. His trip with McConnell to Wall Street is not anything new; it is just another instance in which Cornyn has put partisan politics above actually getting something done.
Obama is right to criticize him. For John Cornyn, one of Washington's most hyper-partisan Republican, to criticize anyone about politicizing anything is a great hypocrisy. That's exactly how he has risen within the Senate Republican leadership.
Cornyn, McConnell and the Republican Party continues to serve Wall St. breakfast in bed.
Anyone who does not get the fact that the Republican Party works 24/7/365 on behalf of fat cat especially the greed infested oinkers on Wall St., is delusional or lives in some kind of alternative universe.
Where delusion and alternative realities are concerned Teabaggers come to mind. Now that we know the teabagger movement is fueled by a bunch of rich older white guys like Dick Armey and Turd Blossom Rove well, hell. What else is new about teabaggers and right wing Republicans? So much for ginned up fake grassroots movements.
About 25 Wall Street executives, many of them hedge fund managers, sat down for a private meeting Thursday afternoon with two of the most powerful Republican lawmakers in Congress: Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and John Cornyn, the senior senator from Texas who runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, one of the primary fundraising arms of the Republican Party.
Now that Kay Bailey Hutchison has decided to stay in Washington to fight against major legislation and continue to be part of the minority party, we expect a steady stream of press releases and statements.
The first comes from the Texas Democratic Party (TDP).
"No one is surprised that Sen. Hutchison is not resigning her seat. We never believed she would leave the Senate, and it's disappointing that she refused to shoot straight with Texas voters.
"The real test for Hutchison is if she will stand by her criticisms of Rick Perry or hypocritically embrace his failed service as Governor."
The TDP openly asks a question we are all curious about. KBH went hard against Perry late in the election and described him as a "failed" Governor. Will she stand by her statements or was she playing politics? Does KBH want to reform her out of touch party or does she want to complacent in the Texas Republican Party's lies?
Simply, does she want to be honest or does she want to continue her games and shameless self promotion?
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has said she will make an announcement Wednesday morning at 10 am in San Antonio. The Statesman's Jason Embry wrote in a First Reading email that "it appears likely that she will announce she is going to stay in the Senate."
Hutchison will be joined in San Antonio by John Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Chances are Cornyn and McConnell, both of whom have publicly called on Hutchison to remain in the Senate, would not travel to watch her announce her resignation.
Still, one thing we all have learned is that trying to predict what Hutchison will do, even when it seems like a foregone conclusion that is less than 10 hours away, is pointless. Until she makes the announcement, no one really knows what she will decide.
State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, is no longer a candidate for U.S. Senate and says she'll refund about $1 million to her contributors. Shapiro was the first candidate to get into the race to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was at the time thinking about resigning early to concentrate on her challenge to Gov. Rick Perry.
After over a year of Republican obstruction, whopping lies, Halloween type driven fright frenzies, hate fests, death panels, clown shows, biased news coverage, tea parties, Dick Armey and his Freedom Works and other shills for the health insurance industry,the American people will finally be able to realize a long and overdue life line known as health care reform.
Thirty three million Americans will soon be able to afford health insurance coverage.
Wow. What a step forward for a first world country that does third world access to affordable health care.
Unfortunately for Texans the ruling GOP here is totally on board with third world health care.
It seems that we voters need to hold or obtain doctorate degrees in psychology or medical degrees in psychiatry to understand the twisted and dysfunctional behavior emanating from our fearless Republican leaders in Washington and Austin.
Both Senators Cornyn and Hutchison have trashed the stimulus bill (The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act,) railing against its waste and its abysmal failure to deliver cash infusions to our state while they extol the bill's virtues at the very same time. Maybe a little bird told the Senators that the recovery act they've been attacking for all kinds of reasons is actually a success.
To further complicate the Senators' stand on the stimulus package that both hate but love, John Cornyn has begged the EPA to deliver bucks for clean diesel projects in San Antonio and Houston.
Kay Bailey Hutchison praised the Port of Houston for its clean air strategy. Residents of the area may have a different definition of "clean air."
Will the Gentleman from News Corp, the Distinguished Senator from Saudi Arabia please yield to the Gentle Lady from Citigroup, the Senator from Russia? The Gentleman from Goldman Sachs, the Distinguished Senator from the great land of Dubai may have ten minutes.
By the way, Prince Al-Waleed, a grandson of the King of Saudi Arabia and the largest individual shareholder in Citigroup and second biggest shareholder in News Corp (Murdock's FOX "News") doesn't like Obama's tax on the banks. Nor does he think much of health care reform or the movie Avatar. Of course Saudi Arabia, a highly repressive country, is one comprised of the very rich and the very poor. For every Prince Al-Waleed there are thousands of impoverished Saudis. The King may wish to ask himself why terrorism has become a successful means of employment in his country.
Apparently Senator John Cornyn and Rick Perry have absolutely no problem with the recent SOTUS decision in which corporations can contribute unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns. In an interview with FOX "News" yesterday, Senator Cornyn said everyone is making too big a deal about this decision.
WALLACE: And finally - and we've only got about 30 seconds left - what's the practical effect of the Supreme Court ruling this week saying that corporations can now openly support and spend money, openly supporting or opposing candidates? Do you expect a rush of corporate cash into the campaign?
CORNYN: No, I don't. I think it's been overstated, the impact. Frankly, there's been an explosion of money into federal races for public office since - well, in the last 10 years, since campaign finance reform.
It hadn't done anything to stop the flow of money in. What it's done is make it less transparent and less accountable. President Obama spent more money in his campaign in 2008 than Senator Kerry and President Bush did in 2004 combined.
So what we need is transparency. We need contemporaneous reporting on the Internet. I think that's the kind of accountability that we need.
WALLACE: Senator Cornyn, thank you. Thanks for coming in today. And it's always a pleasure to see you, sir.
CORNYN: Thanks, Chris.
Overstated? I guess the Senator forgot that most of our corporations are multi-national now and thereby include hundreds if not thousands of foreign shareholders who have a lot of financial clout. Foreign investors like Prince Al-Waleed could very likely donate unimaginable amounts of cash through the back door, i.e. through the armies of lobbying firms that are already crawling all over Washington D.C. In fact, lobbying firms will very likely now become the biggest employer in the Washington, D.C. area, after the federal government.
Senator Cornyn also needs to be reminded that President Obama's ability to raise extraordinary amounts of cash is in no small part due to an immensely effective and powerful electronic grass roots fund raising tool. Through this mechanism the Obama campaign could easily raise vasts amounts from tiny donations ranging from $5.00 to $50.00. There were no small number of "money bombs" raised over at Daily Kos when progressive bloggers would feel the need to show then candidate Obama support especially through the media circuses of Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers. In fact, when progressive grass roots bloggers and activists would get fed up with media bias, John McCain or Sarah Palin we would implement electronic fund raising drives.
Well, I guess those days are over since the SCOTUS threw we little ol' grass roots activists and average Janes and Joes of America into a tank pervaded with with gigantic flesh eating sharks. Big John will tell us this is just fine and we should not worry.
I guess the Senator would love nothing better than to let Goldman-Sachs retaliate against President Obama's efforts to tax the banks, or for health insurance companies to crush the President in 2012 if he should sign the health care reform bill.
Imagine how many congressmen Goldman Sachs could make quake if it quietly let it be known it had decided to divert just 10 percent of the $16.2 billion in employee bonuses it has budgeted this year to retaliate against any of them who supported Obama's proposed reforms.
Yesterday I received an electronic newsletter from John Cornyn that rather surprised me. In his letter to his so-called constituents, Senator Cornyn informed us that he agrees with the uber liberal/progressive former chair of the DNC and governor of Vermont on the health care reform bill.
Wow. This is a new and interesting twist in right/left politics.
In what way, Senator? Please do explain.
My colleagues and I picked up an unlikely ally in our quest to stop the Reid health care bill. Gov. Howard Dean pleaded for his fellow Democrats to "kill this bill" in a Washington Post op-ed on Thursday morning, saying that it "will do more harm than good to the future of America." Despite the vocal protests from Liberals, Conservatives, and Independents, Democrats remain determined to force the bill through by Christmas. I assure you that my fellow Republicans and I remain resolute in stopping the Reid bill dead in its tracks.
As usual, Cornyn is full hot air. The Republicans are screaming about expanded government, as usual, and a health care program that will be affordable and will include millions of uninsured Americans. Republicans are obviously perfectly pleased with the status quo of nearly 50 million uninsured folks who use emergency rooms for their primary care needs. When this happens, the expense is passed along to taxpayers. As W. said during his Administration, everyone has access to health care. Everyone can go to the emergency rooms. Taxpayers shoulder this burden as we do W.'s war in Iraq and his tax cuts to the wealthy. Republicans hate taxation except when it comes to sticking the middle class with taxes.
Progressive Democrats are very unhappy about the lack of a government run public option that would introduce competition into the health insurance market. Many are also worried about the mandates if there is no real competition in the insurance market. Folks have every right to fear that the insurance sharks will take advantage of them if there are no checks and balances. They would do it in a New York nanosecond. Cornyn and the Republicans, by the way, have been enabling these sharks for decades.
If Cornyn had paid attention to the news yesterday he would have known that Dr. Dean now believes the bill should pass. Are you still on board with Dr. Dean, Sir?
I didn't think so.
If John Cornyn and his Republican Party were so concerned about their constituents they would have engaged in this debate a long time ago. They failed to. And now the spineless cowards are trying to align themselves with Dr. Dean and other Progressives who are rightfully upset about the absence of a public option.
Cornyn also writes:
As Texans are well aware by now, the Senate is coming to the end of its third straight week in the debate over health care reform. I think many of you have seen that as this debate progresses, we've learned two important things. First, with each passing day we have more questions than answers about the Reid bill, and secondly, the more the American public learns about it, the more they don't like it. The most recent Washington Post / ABC News Poll says that a solid majority of Americans are opposed to the Reid bill, with a CNN estimate pegging opposition as high as 61% among Americans. I met recently with a group of San Antonio firefighters in my Washington office who echoed this sentiment to me, telling me they could not afford the new taxes they would be saddled with should the bill pass. The President's own chief cost analyst recently became the latest expert to sound alarms over the Reid bill. The Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Rick Foster, issued a report last week concluding that the Reid bill would increase health care costs, threaten access to care for seniors, and force people off of their current coverage. In other words, the Administration's own expert conclusively demonstrated that the Democrats' rhetoric does not match the reality of their bill and that passing the legislation would be worse than doing nothing. You can read the CMS report for yourself here.
Dude, the public is against a health care reform bill that lacks a public option.
Reform with public option or medicare expansion won 59% to 31% support.
Now tell me Sir, are you going to embrace a public option if it is present in the final bill?
I didn't think so.
Folks might be interested to know that John Cornyn has accepted millions of dollars in donations from the insurance, health professionals and pharma sectors. He has received:
$576,878 from insurance, $1,371,928 from health professionals and $288,165 from pharma.
Cornyn has also taken $362,390 from lobbyists. Banking and oil & gas are his biggest contributors.
