Cornyn: Growing Debt Giving Rise To China

By Philip Bunnell

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) made the case for passing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution today by highlighting the link between the growing U.S. debt and China’s military rise.

Cornyn highlighted the potential danger of China’s holdings of American debt, currently estimated to be around $1.1 trillion. “Some folks say there’s no cause for alarm,” Cornyn said. Yet he then noted how a former Chinese general said that “dumping U.S. bonds,” would be an appropriate response to antagonizing U.S. policy.

China, aside from its holdings of U.S. debt, has also become a belligerent security force in the Asian region  and is “unsettling its neighbors,” through the conducting of military excercises, Cornyn said. China has claimed the South China Sea, is increasing tensions on its disputed border with India, and is “an enabler of North Korea,” Cornyn warned.

Cornyn criticized President Obama for not accepting Taiwan’s letter of request to buy F16 fighter jets from the U.S. This reflects, Cornyn said, the fact that “China has intimidated US foreign policy.”

A number of Senate Republicans are launching a push this week to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that he would like a vote to occur by the middle of July. With all 47 Republicans on board, the effort carries some weight, though actually amending the Constitution would require subsequent ratification by two-thirds of the states.

Cornyn pounced on a quote from then-Senator Barack Obama, who warned in 2006 of the consequences of a growing national debt. The quote, Cornyn explained, was meant to “point out the hypocrisy… and lack of leadership,” coming from Obama on the debate to raise the debt limit again later this summer.

Senate Campaign Chairmen Share Contrasting Visions For Midterms

By AJ Swartwood

The respective Chairmen of the Democratic and Republican Senatorial Campaign Committees met today at the National Press Club and outlined their parties’ plans heading into the midterm elections.

Senators John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) touted their own parties’ visions for the future as they try to rally support for what is shaping out to be one of the most unpredictable election cycles in recent memory.

The message of Cornyn was one of optimism and excitement as the GOP faces the midterm elections, citing the President’s vigorous pre-election campaigning as a last ditch effort to save key Democratic Senate seats. He touted new polls that show Republicans with a large lead in terms of enthusiasm and predicted voter turnout.  

“It’s clear that the American people have gotten tired of being lectured to and not listened to,” said Cornyn. 

Sen. Menendez, on the other hand, painted a different picture. While conceding that his party faces a variety of “headwinds” before the midterms, he touted the Democratic reform in Senate as being vitally important in saving the economy from even deeper collapse. Furthermore, he made the case that while Republicans have sought to extend tax cuts for the wealthy, Democrats continue to be the party of the middle class. 

“They have  stood the special interests, with Wall Street, with big banks, with big insurance,  with big oil, and we have been fighting for the average person in this country,” he said. “Democrats are on your side.”

When asked about his November predictions, Menendez responded, “I think we will surprise people on November 2nd.” 

NRSC Now Says It Will Support O'Donnell

The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a statement today saying that it will support conservative Christine O’Donnell in her quest for the U.S. Senate.

O’Donnell rode a wave of voter discontent with Washington, as well as endorsements from Sarah Palin and other various Tea Party groups to victory.

“Let there be no mistake: The National Republican Senatorial Committee – and I personally as the committee’s chairman – strongly stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O’Donnell in Delaware,” said NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas).

“I reached out to Christine this morning, and as I have conveyed to all of our nominees, I offered her my personal congratulations and let her know that she has our support,” Cornyn added.

The statement today comes on the heels of an earlier report that NRSC aides said their organization would not fund O’Donnell’s general election campaign. O’Donnell, a conservative who has run for office before, upset her challenger in the primary, Rep. Mike Castle (R), despite the fact that Castle had received the support of much of the party’s so-called establishment.

Those statements prompted a group known as the Tea Party Express to slam the NRSC. “The National Republican Senatorial Committee has reportedly said they will not support their own nominee for U.S. Senate in Delaware…The NRSC tried to meddle in the vote recount for liberal Republican Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. Now they say they aren’t committed to supporting their own nominee in Delaware? When will this insanity stop?” said a spokesman for the group.

“We encourage the NRSC to take a night off, get some sleep, and reconsider their rash statements.”

Cornyn, however, said his organization is dedicated to helping O’Donnell defeat Democrat Chris Coons in November, and illustrated the NRSC’s efforts to help other Tea Party-backed candidates get elected.

“While it’s not in Republicans’ interest to advertise our spending strategy to our opponents, it’s worth noting that just yesterday, the NRSC’s first independent expenditure ad aired in support of Dr. Rand Paul’s campaign in Kentucky, where we firmly believe that he will win in November,” he said.

Senate Begins Grilling Of Sonia Sotomayor

Republican senators today began their attacks on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, nominated to replace Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. On the first day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic senators praised Sotomayor’s record, saying it demonstrated “judicial modesty,” while Republicans expressed skepticism.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), now the ranking Republican on the committee, called Sotomayor’s comments on use of experience and background in judicial decisions “shocking and offensive” and distributed a thick stack of her past speeches to the media. The speeches were marked up to highlight passages where Sotomayor spoke about the differences her background would produce in her decisions. Sessions criticized the use of any factors outside of the facts and law of a case in making rulings.

Senators Sessions and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both said they planned to ask Sotomayor about her views on a range of issues, including abortion, property rights, the right to bear arms, and capital punishment. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) as well said he was “deeply concerned by [Sotomayor]’s assertion that the law is uncertain.”

Speaking more generally, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized President Obama’s “empathy” standard used to select Sotomayor as his nominee. Graham went so far as to say that he would have to vote against Sotomayor under that standard, which he called “absurd” and “dangerous,” since it would encourage voting on the basis of agreement on issues and would therefore discourage potential nominees from expressing their opinions. He did, however, worry about Sotomayor’s speeches made while she has been a sitting judge, since those might cast doubt on her objectivity when deciding cases. Graham did recognize that “unless [Sotomayor has] a complete meltdown,” she would be confirmed, bringing laughter from audience.

Democrats generally supported the nominee by describing her record as centrist and reserved, and repeating her personal story of being raised by a poor, single mother and working to raise herself up to a federal judgeship. By the time it was Sotomayor’s chance to speak, the audience had heard the story several times.

A couple of Democrats took the opportunity to criticize the previous administration. Senator Specter (D-Pa.), a recent defector from the Republican party, spoke of President Bush’s wiretapping program, saying that a split among circuit courts in different areas of the country has prevented adjudication of the legality of those programs. He expressed hope that a new Supreme Court would resolve this disagreement and generally agree to hear more cases. Senator Feingold (D-Wisc.) lauded the Supreme Court’s role as a check on the president, offering as examples the Court’s rulings that Guantanamo detainees have rights to U.S. courts, and saying that an important quality in justices is a willingness to stand up to the president.

In Sotomayor’s short opening statement, she said that her judicial philosophy was simple: “fidelity to the law.” She said that her record would show that she applies the law according to Congress’s intent, applying relevant precedents. She finished by saying she looks forward to answering the senators’ questions.

Sen. Cornyn Criticizes Democrats' “Power Grab” In Health Care Debate

By Learned Foote- Talk Radio News Service

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) harshly criticized the health care reform proposals put forward by the administration and Democratic congressmen.

“[There is a] continued power grab out of Washington, starting with the financial institutions, leading to car companies, and now to health care,” said Cornyn during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. He warned that the American government might take up policies practiced in England, the United Kingdom, and Canada, where “government ultimately makes a calculation on the value of individual lives" in rationing health care.

Cornyn, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Health Care, said that reform should lower the costs of health care and make coverage accessible to more people, but argued that the proposals will not sufficiently address these needs. Instead, the Senator argued, they will “create a huge command-and-control infrastructure.”

Cornyn said that the government will undercut private insurance providers, and cited statistics from The Lewin Group, a health-care policy research firm. The groups’ report estimates that 119 million individuals, two-thirds of those currently privately-insured, will end up on a public plan.

Cornyn also criticized a proposal floated by some Democrats to tax health benefits, a practice he said Obama “derided” during the Presidential campaign.

Cornyn praised Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, for attempting to work in a bipartisan fashion, but said that Baucus is “being dictated to” by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who favors a public option.

“My hope is that common sense will prevail and that we will listen to the stake-holders, including the millions of Americans whose health care will be forever changed should some of these proposals pass without an opportunity for bipartisan input,” said Cornyn.