The most important thing to know about this week’s primary results in Texas is that nearly 60% of Republican voters have told incumbent Sen. John Cornyn that they don’t want him to return to Washington, and that it will take more than President Donald Trump’s endorsement to change that.
On Thursday, Cornyn’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, made an interesting offer to avoid an ugly and costly runoff election in May. Simply put, if the Senate passes the Save America Act, which would require a voter ID and proof of citizenship to participate in federal elections, Paxton will drop out.
It’s an elegant solution that was suggested by some commentators, including myself, when it became clear that neither Cornyn nor Paxton had cleared the 50% hurdle to avoid a runoff, and it would prevent Trump from intervening and voicing his support.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his bitter rival, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are headed to a runoff in Texas, further extending their bloody primary battle into late May. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The president said Friday he would make a decision “fairly soon” on who to support, but added that he wants to see “the entire Save America Act” passed, the first time he explicitly linked the two.
The offer to the Senate Republican leadership, desperate to hold on to their old friend, appears to be: “If you pass the Save America Act, I will save John Cornyn.” And even Paxton is on board.
This solution is perfect, especially because the Save America Act is a microcosm of everything frustrated Republican voters hate about the Republican establishment running the Senate. It is approved with 70-80% of the votes, but it still cannot be adopted.
Why did 60% of Republicans send this stinging message to Cornyn and the Republican Party on Tuesday? Because men like Majority Leader John Thune and his inner circle of meticulous lawmakers, for all their big talk, can’t get anything done, even if it’s something as popular as Santa Claus.
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Tellingly, in the weekend leading up to Tuesday’s election in the Lone Star State, the most prominent ads on TV were not for any particular candidate, but rather for a pro-Save America Act spot that laid out exactly how senators like Cornyn could vote to protect America’s elections.
I heard about the issue directly from voters, including an El Paso man who said to me, “If they can’t pass the things 80% of us want, then what’s the point of it all?”
If Cornyn wants to regain the trust of Texas Republican voters who rejected him on Tuesday, there’s no better way to start than advocating and even advocating for the Save America Act.
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Cornyn and all Rinosuars of the High Chamber must show that they will not continue to do nothing for another six years.
The Save America Act is actually so popular that it could potentially get the vote of at least one Democrat.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told me Thursday, when asked if he could support using the permanent filibuster to pass the bill with a simple majority: “The Republican Party is greedy about it. Make it simple: Legitimate ID to vote in federal elections.” He then suggested the Wisconsin law as a model, saying, “If that were to happen, I would support it.”
ONLY ONE HOUSE DEM VOTED FOR VOTER ID, PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN US ELECTIONS
Fetterman even argues that such changes would “shove the narrative into Democrats’ laps,” forcing them to tell 80% of Americans that their position is “bizarre” or “Jim Crow.”
The point here is that when something is as popular as voter ID, there is simply no excuse for not getting it, or some version of it, across the finish line.
It’s hard to describe how demoralizing it is for Republican voters, especially in deep red states, when control of the Senate feels meaningless.
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Since Tuesday’s lackluster results, in which Cornyn, to be fair, did better than many expected, his campaign has been in full attack mode against Paxton, arguing that only Cornyn is electable. It’s not enough.
A side-by-side photo of Texas State Rep. James Talarico and Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Alberto Silva Fernandez/Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
If 60% of your own party’s voters want you out, you need to listen to them and find out why. It’s not enough for Cornyn to simply fold his arms and say it’s me or James “God is non-binary” Talarico.
Sometimes in life a reprimand can be a good thing in the long run, a wake-up call. And Cornyn definitely got one this week.
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If Cornyn wants to keep his seat, he needs to take the bull by the longhorns and get something done, show voters that he’s not just going along. And there can be no better achievement than securing the elections in our country.
It’s time for Cornyn to lead, to earn his seat, and not fall behind with Trump’s support. Passing the Save America Act is the best and most important way he can do that.
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