Texas Democrats

On the Fourth Day of Christmas John Cornyn Gave to Me...

Four Undisclosed Earmarks

Once again, Senator John Cornyn is on top of Santa's Naughty List for saying one thing here in Texas and doing the exact opposite in Washington. After his party suffered historic defeats in 2006, he wrote a 2006 post-election column promising to push for greater ethics and earmark disclosure requirements. Cornyn acknowledged that, "earmarks have returned with a vengeance" and called these earmarks "unconscionable."  [Texas Times 11/17/06, Associated Press 8/1/07]

But as usual, the facts prove that Little Johnny Cornyn has been lying to his constituents and as a result, he should get nuttin' for Christmas. When he actually had an opportunity to impose increased regulations on earmark funding, he voted against the legislation. The same legislation would have also increased the amount of time a Senator must wait before become a lobbyist to prevent a "revolving door". He was one of only 14 Senators to vote against the legislation-even his own Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) said that "many provisions are stronger than current law" and voted for it. And even though Cornyn has said he'd push for greater earmark disclosure, when CNN asked for Cornyn's 2008 earmarks, he refused to respond. [Roll Call Vote #294 8/2/07, Associated Press 8/2/07, CNN 6/29/07]

It's unfortunate that John Cornyn believes he can hide from the truth. But as the song says, Santa knows if you've been bad or good. And with John Cornyn speaking from both sides of his mouth, he's clearly been bad this year. Let's hope Santa gives him the lump of coal he deserves.

 

The Twelve Days of Cornyn

 

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