Cornyn's growing clout in the Senate

Houston Chronicle:

The closed-door meeting of senators was tense.

With a comprehensive immigration reform proposal hanging by a thread in the spring of 2007, Republican presidential candidate John McCain used a barnyard epithet to accuse Texas Sen. John Cornyn of trying to sink the carefully constructed compromise.

Cornyn, who was pushing a provision that some said would make it difficult for many illegal immigrants to secure citizenship, maintained his cool in front of stunned colleagues but did not mince words with his powerful and volatile colleague, who had just returned from the campaign trail.

"Wait a second, here," said the Texan, a longtime friend of President Bush. "I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations, and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line." McCain's fury abated.

Though the immigration compromise eventually fell apart, the story of the confrontation speaks volumes about Cornyn's personality and his desire to be in the middle of the action in Washington. To remain there, the 56-year-old conservative must win re-election on Nov. 4 in a national political environment that is hostile to Republicans in general and friends of Bush in particular.

During his first term in the Senate, the former Texas attorney general and state Supreme Court judge has transformed himself from a cheerleader for Bush to become a force in his own right — a member of his party's leadership and an authority on issues ranging from judicial nominations to open government.

Friends and detractors alike describe the San Antonio lawyer as a man of great ambition who might one day run for president or become a nominee for the Supreme Court.

"The sky's the limit," says Cornyn adviser David Beckwith, a GOP operative who once served as press secretary to Vice President Dan Quayle.

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If the incumbent manages to get by Noriega, he is poised to become the most powerful Texas Republican in Washington after the departure of Bush on Jan. 20 and the expected resignation of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2009 to run for governor .

"I think my responsibilities will do nothing but increase," Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle. "I feel like I'm ready, and I am certainly willing."

Cornyn, who masks political ambition with a genteel, aw-shucks manner, hopes to climb the next step following the election. Currently vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the fifth-ranking GOP leader, he is contemplating a bid to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which raises money for Senate candidates. It could be a good platform for a prospective GOP presidential candidate to build contacts with contributors.

"I am interested in helping the Republican party rebuild," says Cornyn, who wrote a $250,000 check to the committee in June.

Thomas R. Phillips, who served with Cornyn on the Texas Supreme Court, praises his dedication to mastering the complexities of each new job.

"John may be something like what Abe Lincoln said — 'I may be a slow walker but I never walk backwards,'" says Phillips, who served with Cornyn on the court for seven years. ''John gets better at whatever task he's doing every year."

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I think the chances of Cornyn getting a Supreme Court nomination are remote, although he would be an outstanding Justice. He is intelligent and careful. He has been one of the smartest Senators in Washington which is not intended as faint praise.

He is probably the Republican's best tactician in dealing with the Democrats, because he can construct resolutions that make it difficult for the Democrats to argue their positions. He did that with a resolution that said it was not in the interest of the US that Iraq be a failed state.

That put the Democrats in a real bind because they were pursuing policies that would have resulted in that very thing. Some even embraced Iraq as a failed state in hopes that it would increase Democrat political fortunes. But they could not admit it.

Texas should reelect Sen. Cornyn.