John Cornyn, III is the junior
United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
for
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the
National Republican Senatorial CommitteeThe National Republican Senatorial Committee is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee...
for the 111th U.S. Congress.
Early life, education, and legal career
Cornyn was born in
HoustonHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
to John Cornyn, II and Atholene Gale Cornyn (née Danley). He graduated from
Trinity UniversityTrinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
in 1973, where he majored in
journalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and was a member of Chi Delta Tau. He earned a
J.D.Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from
St. Mary's University School of LawSt. Mary's University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of St. Mary's University. The law school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and is the oldest Catholic law school in the American Southwest. The University is a private Catholic university...
in 1977 and an LL.M. from the
University of Virginia School of LawThe University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
in 1995.
He served in San Antonio for six years as a district judge before being elected as a Republican in 1990 to the
Texas Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for non-criminal matters in the state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is the court of last resort for criminal matters.The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices...
, on which he served for seven years.
1998 election
In 1998, Cornyn decided to run to become
Texas Attorney GeneralThe Texas Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Texas.The department has offices at the William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in Austin.-History:...
. In the March primary,
Barry WilliamsonBarry Ashlin Williamson is an American attorney who served as a Republican member of the Texas Railroad Commission from 1992-1999...
, Railroad Commissioner, placed first with 38% of the vote, but failed to get the 50% threshold necessary to win the Republican nomination. Cornyn, then-State Supreme Court Justice, got second place with 32% and Tom Pauken, former
Chairman of the Texas Republican partyThe Republican Party of Texas is one of the two major political parties in the U.S. State of Texas. It is affiliated with the United States Republican Party. The State Chairman is Steve Munisteri, a retired attorney and businessman from Houston, and the Vice-Chair is Melinda Fredricks of Conroe....
, got third place with 30%. In the April run-off election, Cornyn defeated Williamson 58% to 42%. In the general election, Cornyn defeated
Jim MattoxJames Albon Mattox was a Dallas lawyer and Texas Democratic politician who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives and two four-year terms as state Attorney General, but lost high profile races for Governor in 1990, the U.S. Senate in 1994, and again as attorney general...
, former U.S. Congressman and Attorney General (1983-1991), with 54% of the vote. Cornyn became only the second Republicans to have held the position.
Accomplishments
His office organized a consumer fraud division to target improper business practices. He fought
energy companiesThe energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
accused of underpaying
royaltiesRoyalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
and environmental violations. He enforced child-support laws, such as penalizing deadbeat dads. He also created the Texas Internet Bureau to investigate illegal internet practices. He has fought against government waste and corruption with his investigation of fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims.
In 2005, Cornyn's name was mentioned among possibilities to replace
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
justices
Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
or
William RehnquistWilliam Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
.
Elections
2002
In the 2002 U.S. Senate Primary in Texas, Cornyn was the candidate promoted and supported by the Texas Republican Party in the Primary election. He easily defeated the five other candidates in the Republican Primary while disdaining the opportunity to debate the other candidates. Cornyn defeated his closest Republican challenger, Bruce Rusty Lang, a self-financed Dallas based international physician, in the Republican Primary election by a ten to one electoral margin. In the 2002 General election Candidate Cornyn defeated Democrat
Ron KirkRonald "Ron" Kirk is the 16th United States Trade Representative, serving in the Obama administration. He served as mayor of Dallas, Texas from 1995 to 2002; he also ran for the United States Senate in 2002.-Early life and career:...
in a campaign which cost each candidate over $18,000,000.
2008
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
has not elected a Democrat in a statewide election since 1994, and according to
RasmussenThe surname Rasmussen is a Danish and Norwegian surname, meaning "Rasmus' son" . It is the ninth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 1.9% of the population....
polling, in October 2008 Cornyn had an approval rating of 50%.
Texas House of RepresentativesThe Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
member/Afghanistan War
veteranA veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
Rick NoriegaRichard Joel "Rick" Noriega was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 145 in eastern Houston, first elected in 1998. He was the Democratic nominee for the Texas United States Senate election, 2008 against the one-term Republican incumbent John Cornyn...
secured his place as Cornyn's Democratic challenger in the March 4 primary, beating out opponents Gene Kelly, Ray McMurrey, and Rhett Smith. The same Rasmussen poll showed Cornyn leading Noriega 47% to 43%, suggesting that this race might have proved to be unexpectedly competitive. However, most polls showed a much wider margin.
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
activist
Larry KilgoreLarry Scott Kilgore is a Christian-Conservative activist and former Republican candidate in the Texas gubernatorial election, 2010.Kilgore was born in Amarillo, the seat of Potter County in the Texas Panhandle....
of
MansfieldMansfield is a city in Ellis, Johnson, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,368.In 2009, CNN/Money Magazine rated Mansfield as one of the "Best Places to Live" in the United States, ranking 24th out of the top 100 places.-History:The first...
, was a Republican challenger for the March 2008 primary election, but Cornyn easily won the Republican primary.
Yvonne Adams Schick was the Libertarian Party's nominee. In addition, the
Green Party of TexasThe Green Party of Texas is the state party organization for Texas of the Green Party of the United States.-History:The Green Party of Texas began to organize a serious, statewide, grassroots effort in the late 1990s...
sought ballot access for its candidate David B. Collins.
Tenure
In 2004, Cornyn co-founded and became the co-chairman of the U.S. Senate India Caucus. Cornyn was selected by his colleagues in December 2006 to be a member of the five-person Republican Senate leadership team as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.
Cornyn has received various awards and recognitions, including the 2005 Border Texan of the Year Award; the National Child Support Enforcement Association's Children's Champion Award; the
American Farm Bureau FederationThe American Farm Bureau Federation , commonly referred to as the Farm Bureau, is a nonprofit organization and the largest general farm organization in the United States...
's Friend of Farm Bureau Award; the Texas Association of Business's (TAB) Fighter for Free Enterprise Award; the
National Federation of Independent BusinessThe National Federation of Independent Business is a lobbying organization with its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee and offices in Washington, D.C. USA, and in all 50 state capitals...
's (NFIB) Guardian of Small Business Award; the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders's (CONLAMIC) Latino Leadership Award; and the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce's (TAMACC) International Leadership Legislative Award; among others.
In 2005, Cornyn gained notice by connecting the Supreme Court's reluctance to hear arguments for sustaining
Terri SchiavoThe Terri Schiavo case was a legal battle in the United States between the legal guardians and the parents of Teresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo that lasted from 1998 to 2005...
's life with the recent murders of Judge
Joan LefkowJoan Humphrey Lefkow is a United States district court judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 11, 2000, to a seat vacated by Judge Ann Claire Williams, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 2000...
's husband and mother as well as that of Judge
Rowland BarnesRowland W. Barnes was a Fulton County, Georgia, United States, Superior Court Judge. He was shot to death in his courtroom....
. "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. 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 building up to the point where some people engage in violence." His statement and a similar one by House Majority Leader
Tom DelayThomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
were widely denounced, including
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Cornyn later said that he regretted the statement.
In 2005, Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, presented Cornyn and Senator
Patrick LeahyPatrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
with its first ever Bi-Partisan Leadership Award in honor of their cooperation on issues of government oversight and transparency, including their co-sponsorship of the OPEN Government Act of 2005, which prevented burying exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act in legislation.
Cornyn has been described by Jim Jubak of
MSN MoneyMSN Money, a service of MSN, is a website about business news, that is edited in association with CNBC. It provides stock exchange prices and financial information on companies. Information on stock and share options is also provided. Stock prices are also supplied through msnbc.com.The site also...
as one of "Big Oil's ten favorite members of Congress", as he has received more money from the oil and gas industry than all but six other members of Congress.
On the day of Obama's inauguration, it was reported that Cornyn would prevent
Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
from being confirmed as
secretary of stateSecretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
by a unanimous floor vote that day. Senate Majority Leader
Harry ReidHarry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
's spokesman reported to the
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that a roll call vote would be held instead on the following day, January 21, 2009, for the Clinton confirmation, and that it was expected Clinton would
"receive overwhelming bipartisan support". The vote was 94-2 in her favor, with only Senators
Jim DeMintJames Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
(R-
SCSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
) and
David VitterDavid Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
(R-
LALouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
) voting in opposition.
Cornyn also took the lead on resisting the nomination of
Eric HolderEric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
for Attorney General, attempting to set up hypothetical questions which would have supported the use of
tortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. During the nomination hearings, Holder rejected the premise of that line of questioning and declined to endorse
waterboardingWaterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
as a legitimate law enforcement or national security tool.
As chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Cornyn was a strong supporter of
Norm Coleman'sNorman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
various court challenges to the election certification. Cornyn advocated for Coleman to bring the case before the federal court, and had said the trial and appeals could take years to complete. Cornyn had threatened that Republicans would wage a "
World War IIIWorld War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
" if the Senate Democrats had attempted to seat Franken before the appeals were complete. Coleman conceded after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Franken.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
- Committee on the Budget
The United States Senate Committee on Budget was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. The committee has jurisdiction over the...
- Committee on Finance
The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generally, and those relating to the insular possessions; bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection...
- Subcommittee on Health Care
The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care is one of the six subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Finance-Members, 112th Congress:The subcommittee is chaired by Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, and the Ranking Minority Member is Vacant....
- Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight is one of the six subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Finance-Members, 112th Congress:...
- Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure is one of the six subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Finance-Members, 112th Congress:...
- Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
Political positions
Cornyn was ranked by
National JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
as the seventeenth-most conservative United States Senator in their 2008 rankings. He was considered by the
Dallas Morning News to be a reliable ally of former President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on most issues.
Civil rights and law enforcement
In the 2004 debate surrounding the
Federal Marriage AmendmentThe Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
, Cornyn released an advance copy of a speech he was to give at the
Heritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
. In the speech, he wrote, "It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a
box turtleThe box turtle , or box tortoise is a genus of turtle native to North America . The 12 taxa which are distinguished in the genus are distributed over four species. It is largely characterized by having a domed shell, which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to...
. But that does not mean it is right... [N]ow you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife." He removed the reference to the box turtle in the actual speech, but the
Washington Post ran the quote, as did
The Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
.
Cornyn sponsored a bill that would allow law enforcement to force anyone arrested or detained to provide samples of their
DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
, which would be recorded in a central database. He voted to recommend a
constitutional banA constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
on
flag desecrationFlag desecration is a term applied to various acts that intentionally destroy, damage or mutilate a flag in public, most often a national flag. Often, such action is intended to make a political point against a country or its policies...
and for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He also voted for the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act and extending its wiretap provision. He is rated "A" by the
National Rifle AssociationThe National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
. Cornyn said on December 20, 2005: "None of your
civil libertiesCivil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
matter much after you're dead" in a speech supporting reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act.
Defense and homeland security
In 2005, Cornyn voted against additional funding for up-armored vehicles to protect troops in Afghanistan & Iraq. Cornyn voted against removing troops from
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
by July 2007, and he later voted against removing them by March 2008. He voted against implementing the recommendations of the
9/11 Commission ReportThe 9/11 Commission Report, formally named Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks...
and restoring $565 million for states' and ports' first responders. He also voted against restricting businesses with ties to
terrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. He voted against preserving
habeas corpus is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
for Guantanamo detainees. Cornyn was one of only 22 Senators to vote against the
Post-9/11 GI BillThe Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 is Title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, , , an Act of Congress which became law on June 30, 2008. The act amended Part III of Title 38, United States Code to include a new Chapter 33, which expands the educational benefits...
that expands the educational benefits for soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead he co-sponsored SB 2938, which gives benefits that are dependent on length of service.
Social policy
He voted to ban partial-birth abortions except in cases where the mother's life was in danger and for a criminal penalty for harming a
fetusA fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
while committing another crime. He also voted in favor of notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. He voted against expanding research to more
embryonic stem cellEmbryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
lines. He voted to prevent contributions to organizations that perform or promote abortion as a method of
family planningFamily planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
, and to prevent funding of organizations that support coercive abortion.
Cornyn voted to confirm
Samuel AlitoSamuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
as an
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesAssociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
and John Roberts for
Chief Justice of the United StatesThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
. In September 2005, during the Supreme Court hearings for Roberts, Cornyn's staff passed out bingo cards to reporters. He asked them to stamp their card every time a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
on the Judiciary Committee used terms such as "
far rightFar-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
" or "
extremistExtremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
".
On July 24, 2009 Cornyn announced his intention to vote against President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's Supreme Court nominee
Sonia SotomayorSonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
, citing his opinion that she might rule
"from a liberal, activist perspective".
Fiscal policy
Cornyn is a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act of 2007. He voted to permanently repeal the estate tax and for raising the estate tax exemption to $5 million. He voted in favor of $350 billion in tax cuts over 11 years, and supports making President Bush's tax cuts permanent. He voted for the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
,Troubled Asset Relief Program TARP, but against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009.
In 2005, Cornyn voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in
mercuryMercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
regulations. He voted against factoring
global warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
into federal project planning, and against banning drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife RefugeThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
. He voted against reducing oil usage by 40%, rather than by 5%. He also voted against removing oil and gas exploration subsidies. During his tenure in the Senate, Cornyn has scored 0% on the
League of Conservation VotersThe League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
' environmental scorecard, a system of ranking politicians according to their voting record on environmental legislation.
Cornyn opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
in December 2009, and he voted against the
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
.
Electoral history
Personal life
Cornyn and his wife, Sandy Hansen, have two daughters. Cornyn gained national attention when he released a video referring to himself as "Big Bad John". The video was featured on comedy shows such as
The Colbert Report and
The Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
.
In 1999, Cornyn, as state attorney general, awarded "Lawman of the Year" to free-lance, discredited undercover officer Tom Coleman, for his work in Tulia, Texas. This work resulted in the "Tulia 46" scandal.
External links