July 12, 2007
Cornyn attacks Watts

Well, somebody thinks we're gonna have ourselves a real Senate race next year.


U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's political money-raising operation has wasted no time in playing the trial lawyer card against potential Democratic opponent Mikal Watts, an attorney from San Antonio.

Cornyn has scheduled a series of fundraisers for the weekend of July 20, featuring presidential adviser Karl Rove as the main attraction. But an invitation letter for the Harlingen event also plays off Republican reactions to trial lawyers.

"We will also have the opportunity to help the senator begin preparing for what appears to be a wealthy, self-financed personal injury lawyer opponent," said a Cornyn campaign committee letter signed by James G. Springfield, CEO of Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen.

A Cornyn fundraising letter sent out last month by John Nau of Houston noted: "Unfortunately, John appears to have drawn a very wealthy personal injury lawyer Mikal Watts as a potential opponent." Cornyn's aides declined to discuss the specifics of his letters.


I'm not sure if this means Cornyn fears Mikal Watts more than he fears Rick Noriega, if it means he thinks he's more likely to face Watts than Noriega next year, or if he just thinks Watts is an easier target. Certainly, "trial lawyer" is a nice, comforting piece of shorthand that a Republican in need of a boogeyman can use to whip up the faithful. It does make one wonder what he'll do if he doesn't get Watts as his ballotmate, though. Maybe he needs a little more time to think about it.

Here's a question to ponder: Who do you think would poll worse nowadays, trial lawyers or Karl Rove? Let's just say that I hope Cornyn and Rove remain BFFs throughout the campaign.


Cornyn's trip with Rove might seem surprising because the senator recently began distancing himself from the president on the issue of immigration. But from his 2002 election until recently, Cornyn has been a staunch Bush supporter.

Rove helped Cornyn win election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1996, recruited Cornyn to run for state attorney general in 1998 and again to run for the U.S. Senate in 2002.


That in a nutshell is why I believe the 2008 Senate race will be different from the recent ones that preceded it. Cornyn and Bush are two peas in a pod, no matter how pathetically our junior Senator tries to "distance" himself these days. And Bush hasn't been popular in Texas in a long time. He's less popular than Cornyn himself, which won't help. All Cornyn had to do in 2002 was be Bush's buddy, which was something he could easily do better than Ron Kirk. Now he's got to run as his own man, but with all that Bush baggage attached to him. It won't be easy for him. BOR, Eye on Williamson, and Stace have more.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 12, 2007 to Election 2008
Comments

Certainly, "trial lawyer" is a nice, comforting piece of shorthand that a Republican in need of a boogeyman can use to whip up the faithful.

Rolls off the tongue in the same manner as "Fundamentalist Christian" does for the Left eh?


I've got my own reasons for not supporting Cornyn. This will amuse the base but probably won't win him any indepenant votes.

Posted by: Cory on July 12, 2007 2:40 PM

This is a very encouraging sign. Sounds like Cornyn is only a step or two away from reading the writing on the wall. He and the rest of the neo-cons have gone to great lengths to avert their eyes, but the time has come.

Posted by: WhosPlayin on July 12, 2007 3:07 PM

Rolls off the tongue in the same manner as "Fundamentalist Christian" does for the Left eh?

Actually, that's "religious Right." :)

I'm not sure if this means Cornyn fears Mikal Watts more than he fears Rick Noriega,

I'm pretty sure the use of this phrase for fundraising does not mean that.

As Cory suggests, what it does mean is that effective pols use hot-button phrases to rally their base (and raise money). I wouldn't read much more into it than that.

Posted by: Kevin Whited on July 12, 2007 6:54 PM

Apparently John Cornyn believes that loathing of trial lawyers will compensate for his blind adherence to the authoritarian and lawless Bush administration, not to mention his unquestioning support for the continuing waste of fine American lives in Iraq. If trial lawyers is the best argument he's got, Cornyn is already toast. His campaign letter is almost comical, but then John Cornyn has been a joke for years.

Posted by: Dennis on July 12, 2007 8:25 PM

Reality check here - Republicans use the Trial lawyers stuff because it works.

And for all the carping and comments like "he's toast" it's the Republicans that won every statewide office last year by an average of around 700,000 votes and about 1.2 million in 2004.

So the burden of proof is on Texas Democrats to demonstrate why Texans can and should for a qualified Democrat for the US Senate.

If Democrats go with a Trial Lawyer just because of his bankroll, they're ignoring the political realities of Texas.

By November 2008 it will be 14 years since the last Democratic statewide win and 32 years since a Democrat carried Texas for President.

Less rhetoric and more action is what is needed.

Posted by: Aaron on July 13, 2007 10:23 PM