In 1988, a television show titled Dear John first aired on NBC. It was about a man named John who comes home from work and discovers that his wife has left him for his best friend via a letter she leaves him: a Dear John letter. The show ran for four years, and it was pretty funny. Why mention this show that came and went before the Internet even existed? The theme song. There is a line in the song that says: "Dear John / Life goes on, right or wrong." That line popped into my head when Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost the primary race to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It was hoped by many, including this author, that he would leave the Senate as an adult, possibly helping President Donald Trump to confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. Attorney General and getting the SAVE America Act, which would strengthen voter integrity, passed on his way out.
That was not to be. Instead of being an adult, Cornyn is going out as a petulant child, determined to wreck as much of the Senate as he can. That’s a shame because that’s what he’ll be remembered for, that and losing the primary race to an opponent as the incumbent, after 24 years in office. That hasn’t happened since 1974 when Sen. J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) lost his primary after 29 years in office. It is an unfortunate end to a fairly successful career that began in 1985 as a district judge in San Antonio, before winning election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1990.
Cornyn, the son of an Air Force officer, was born in Houston, attended the American School in Japan, where his father was stationed, graduating in 1969. He attended Trinity University, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1973. He earned his law degree from St. Mary’s University in 1977, and then received an LL.M, a Master of Laws, from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995. In 1998, Cornyn ran for Texas State Attorney General and won, defeating Jim Maddox, a Democrat and former attorney general, with 54% of the vote. While in office, Cornyn set up the Texas Internet Bureau in 2000 to investigate illegal Internet practices. He also investigated fraudulent Medicaid and Medicare claims.
In 2002, after the incumbent Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas) decided to retire instead of running for another term, John Cornyn won the open seat against Democrat Ron Kirk 55% to 43%. This was the first open-seat election for a Senate seat since 1984. He would be reelected in 2008, 2014, and 2020.
In 2005, Cornyn voted for Samuel Alito to become a Supreme Court justice, replacing Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who was retiring, and for John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Cornyn had a sense of humor back then. His staff passed out bingo cards to the press, asking them to stamp their card every time a Democrat used terms such as “far right” or “extremist” during the Senate confirmation hearing. In 2009, he stated his intention to vote against President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, as the replacement for Justice David Souter, stating that he was concerned that she would vote from a “liberal, activist perspective.” On the day of Obama’s inauguration, in 2009, it was reported that Cornyn would prevent Hillary Clinton’s confirmation as secretary of state by unanimous floor vote that day. Her confirmation was held the next day. In 2013, National Journal ranked Cornyn as the 14th most conservative senator.
When Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace him. Cornyn was quoted as saying, “the only way to empower the American people” was to have the vacancy filled by the winner of the upcoming presidential election. The Senate did not vote on the Garland nomination, and Garland was never confirmed as a justice. President Trump won the 2016 presidential election and selected Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice in April 2017. Interestingly enough, when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020, Cornyn took the opposite approach that he had in 2016. He recommended a vote on Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy. Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s choice, was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice in October 2020.
What happened to John Cornyn? How did he shift from the 14th most conservative senator to someone his constituents were happy to vote out of office? It’s difficult to pinpoint a specific event in time and say “Yes, that’s what changed him,” because of his changing points of view, especially with President Trump. He blew hot and cold on Trump, saying in 2016 that Trump was “an albatross around the down-ballot races,” but he defended Trump, as well. In 2019, he defended Trump’s decision to redirect resources from the Pentagon to building a wall on the Mexican border.
In 2020, during his senatorial race, he distanced himself from Trump. But then, he voted against an independent commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. In 2023, he said that Republicans should nominate candidates who can actually win, that Trump’s time had passed him by and that Trump did not appeal to those beyond his base. Cornyn opposes abortion, is a hawk in terms of foreign policy, and is a frequent critic of China.
In 2022, despite being a firm supporter of the Second Amendment and receiving an A+ grade from the NRA Political Victory Fund, he supported a bipartisan agreement on gun control which included a red flag law, a vote that certainly turned a lot of his constituency away.
Related: With Republicans Like These, Who Needs Democrats?
Most recently, Cornyn has disgraced himself by blocking the confirmation of Todd Blanche as U.S. Attorney General to replace Pam Bondi. He claims that a $2 billion fund to pay those American citizens whose lives were destroyed by the Biden administration is concerning to him and that he wants a written proposal to permanently end the fund as well as rewrite Trump’s audit immunity in order to remove the block on Blanche. Again, he’s blowing hot and cold on Trump. He is refusing to support the SAVE Act and demanding that the Senate take its August break. Texas’s junior senator, Ted Cruz (R-TX), has pledged to forgo the recess and stay in Washington, D.C. to pass the SAVE Act.
Related: Cornyn Continues His Curiously Militant Opposition to the SAVE Act.
This writer has lived in Texas for over 40 years. She has voted for John Cornyn more than once but not recently. Her opinion is that Cornyn has been a politician for too long. He’s gotten too comfortable with Washington, D.C. and its environs. He enjoys the perks of being a senator and wants to keep them. He’s turned from someone that the voters in Texas could count on to someone who has turned angry and bitter because the voters did not do what he demanded.
As the song at the beginning of this article says, "Life goes on, right or wrong." Get used to retirement, Sen. Cornyn. You’ve certainly earned it, even if you don’t think you have.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member