Cornyn Threatens Judges, Protects Gonzales
When it comes to defending the criminal wrong-doing of the Bush administration, few Republicans in Congress circle the wagons better than Texas Senator John Cornyn. With the exploding scandal over the firings of U.S. attorneys threatening the White House, Cornyn has come to the assistance of fellow former Texas Supreme Court justice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. How ironic then that the same John Cornyn who defends "the Judge" now was the same man who two years ago excused violence against judges.
Back in 2005, Cornyn was one of the GOP standard bearers in the conservative fight against so-called "judicial activism" in the wake of the Republicans' disastrous intervention in the Terri Schiavo affair. On April 4th, Cornyn took to the Senate floor to issue a not-too-thinly veiled threat to judges opposing his reactionary agenda. Just days after the murders of judges in Chicago and Atlanta, Cornyn offered his endorsement of judicial intimidation:
"I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country...And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence."
But those were liberal judges Senator Cornyn was threatening in 2005. This is 2007 and the reliable Bush lapdog "Judge" Alberto Gonzales needs protection now.
After an initial bout of self-doubt, Cornyn has mounted a spirited defense of Gonzales as the revelations mount. After the Attorney General's catastrophic press conference on March 13th, Judiciary Committee member Cornyn voiced concerns over the fallout from the White House's ham-fisted political subversion of the U.S. attorneys. "Appearances are troubling. This has not been handled well," he said. "But in Texas we believe in having a fair trial and then the hanging."
But by Sunday, March 18th, Senator Cornyn took to the airwaves to lead the Republican counterattack. On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopolous, Cornyn debuted two new GOP talking points to defend Gonzales and the Bush White House. He decried what he deemed a Democratic "political witch hunt." He also nonsensically lambasted fellow Judiciary Committee colleague Charles Schumer (D-NY) for a conflict of interest over his role as leader of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). The New York Senator, he claimed, had "already reached a verdict," adding that Schumer "undermines the apparent legitimacy of what is a legitimate inquiry." Two days later, Cornyn, the ranking minority member of the Senate Ethics Committee, almost comically declared "I don't see what the hubbub is about relieving eight U.S. attorneys of their job."
By mid-week, Cornyn emerged as one of the leaders of a Republican effort on Capitol Hill to rehabilitate and defend Gonzales. On Wednesday, the Attorney General joined Senators Cornyn, Hatch (R-UT), Sessions (R-AL) and Kyl for a lunchtime strategy session. Cornyn immediately led the charge against Democratic calls to subpoena Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and other Bush advisors, parroting the now discredited GOP talking point that "there is an important principle, and that is that political leaders and public officials want to be able to have communication and get advice from close advisers."
As the calls from Democrats and some Republicans mount for Gonzales ouster, Senator John Cornyn is beginning to resemble another viciously partisan Texas Republican - Tom Delay. Delay, too, threatened judges whose decisions he disliked, declaring "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior". And like Cornyn, the indicted and disgraced former House Majority Leader rushed to the defense of Judge Gonzales, advising the Bush White House that "they ought to be fighting back."
For his part, Cornyn in his defense of Alberto Gonzales portrays Democrats as conspiracy theorists when it comes to the Bush U.S. attorney flap. "Democrats," he said, "think Karl Rove is lurking behind every bush in Washington."
Behind one Bush, to be sure.
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Cornyn is living proof that the theory of evolution doesn't alway hold.
Posted by Erik on March 25, 2007 7:36 PM