[MeekOneGOP]

He has been a nice surprise for me. I wish Texans
in general were aware of the great job he is doing.

Well, let's ping a few Texans to this and get the word out.
And I'm pinging my General Interest list here, too.

Thanks for the post and ping here, folks.

---

(Texas Senator John Cornyn's)
Floor Speech: Judicial Nominations

Excerpt:

So my question is, to whom is the distinguished Democratic leader referring? None of President Bush's nominees have been turned down by the Senate-- none, zero. The nominees he referred to were denied a vote altogether. In fact, all of these nominees would have been confirmed last Congress had majorities been allowed to govern as they have during the entire history of this country and the entire history of the Senate -- save and except for the time when Democrats chose to deny a majority the opportunity for an up-or-down vote.

So I would say, correcting the record, it is a little difficult to turn down a nominee, as the minority leader has said, if the nominee never gets an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.

Now, the second part I would like to correct is that when the Democratic leader was asked whether obstruction would create a 60-vote threshold for all future judicial nominees, he said:

It's always been a 60-vote for judges. There is -- nothing change[d].

He said:

Go back many, many, many years. Go back decades and it's always been that way.

Well, we took his advice, and we did go back over the years.

It turns out it has not always been that way. Indeed, there has never, ever, ever been a refusal to permit an up-or-down vote with a bipartisan majority standing ready to confirm judges in the history of the Senate until these last 2 years. Many nominees have, in fact, been confirmed by a vote of less than 60 Senators.

In fact, the Senate has consistently confirmed judges who enjoyed a majority but not 60-vote support, including Clinton appointees Richard Paez, William Fletcher, and Susan Oki Mollway; and Carter appointees Abner Mikva and L.T. Senter.

---

This Texan is PROUD to say: "John Cornyn: You are MY Senator!"

John Cornyn (R)
Texas

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas or General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

Full Texas Ping List

[Bahbah]

Thanks for the ping, Meekie. I am very impressed with Cornyn.

[txradioguy]

Yes Cornyn was a pretty good AG as well. I'm glad he's one of my senators. Between him and Sen. Hutchinson Texas is in good hands.

[TheGrimReaper]

Cornyn bump

I have to admit...John has done MUCH better than I ever expected.

[bitt]

thanks for ping. good stuff. right stuff. future stuff.

[TRY ONE]

"This Texan is PROUD to say: "John Cornyn: You are MY Senator!""

Here! Here!
BTW, where is our SENIOR Senator, Kay Bailey?
What has she accomplished in the last 12+ years?
When she is interviewed on TV she is almost incoherent.
Now I hear she is going to run for Gov.
I hope Don Evans runs instead --- we need a real leader.

[native texan]

and I've been worried that he would be timid his first year or so. What a great Texan!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[philman_36]

Light the fires and kick the tires!

[No Truce With Kings]

"He has been a nice surprise for me. I wish Texans
in general were aware of the great job he is doing."

I remember meeting Cornyn after the primary, when he was the GOP candidate. I did not have anything against Cornyn -- but I felt an opponent of his would do a better job as senator. So I had not voted for him in the primary.

The meeting was just a small thing. Maybe two dozen Republicans on the courthouse square in Palestine, TX. But Cornyn spent time with each of us. As I pulsed him on the issues (thinking, this is the guy I am stuck with -- against a popular Dallas mayor), I began to realize how sharp he was -- and what a basically descent person. That is a too-rare combination in a world of sharp weasels and descent dolts.

As I explored the issues with him, I realized we were alike on most issues -- and the two or three I still differed with him . . . well time was to prove he was right. By the end of the meeting I went away thinking "this is the guy we are going to win with -- regardless of how popular the Dallas mayor is.

And I have never found reason to change that assessment or my support.

[SwatTeam]

Thanks for the ping. I absolutely love John Cornyn. I was pleased when he ran for the seat because I have been "watching" him for a while. But he has exceeded my expectations by a lot. I am more impressed all the time. I have sent him e-mails on some of my views and I always get an acknowledgement. It is probably an automatic one, but I get one and he sends a real imformative newsletter periodically.