Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to Become Minority Whip Despite GOP Senate Losses

For Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, it is the best of times and the worst of times. The former is because he is about to become the number two in the Senate Republican caucus. The latter is because he presided over an electoral defeat for the Senate GOP.

Cornyn to become Senate Majority Whip

Because of the retirement of Sen. John Kyle, R-Ariz., the current Senate Minority Whip, Cornyn is running to replace him. According to Politico, all of his potential rivals, including Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Richard Burr, R-S.C., have all decided not to run for the number two spot in the Senate Republican caucus. Thus Cornyn is likely to be unopposed.

Cornyn presided over GOP Senate electoral losses

The irony of Cornyn's probable ascent to the number two spot in the GOP Senate leadership is that, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he presided over the net loss of two Senate seats in the 2012 election at a time many Republicans believed they had a shot of not only gaining seats, but of taking control of the Senate. The losses were across the ideological spectrum, including tea party favorite Richard Murdock in Indiana and moderate Scott Brown in Massachusetts. According to the Daily Caller, this prompted a panel on the "Morning Joe" show on MSNBC to suggest that failure ought not to be rewarded with a promotion to the Republican Senate leadership.

Cornyn is up for reelection in 2014

Complicating matters, according to the Daily Caller, is that both Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are up for re-election in 2014. They cannot afford to be too flexible in dealing with Senate Democrats or President Barack Obama for fear of facing a primary opponent.

Cornyn calls for compromise

The first problem that the federal government must wrestle with, even before the new Congress is seated, is avoiding the so-called "fiscal cliff" in which draconian spending cuts and tax increases unless the House, the Senate, and the president can agree on a new deficit reduction package. According to YNN, Obama has persisted in insisting on his plan for tax increases on the rich. Cornyn, however, is quoted as suggesting that plan will not be viable unless the president is willing to compromise. What the shape of that compromise might be is as yet unclear, but a fight over taxes and spending seem to be looming and, as he rises in the Republican leadership in the Senate, Cornyn has become a key player in that fight.

Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sen-john-cornyn-r-texas-become-minority-whip-182600809.html

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