Cornyn Shakes the Money Tree Instead of Voting on Economic Recovery

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No one doubted last night that the Senate’s stimulus bill would clear the 60-vote hurdle it needed to move towards final approval today. But while cancer-stricken Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) summoned the strength to cast his vote, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was the only active senator who missed the boat entirely.

As Ben Smith explains, Cornyn was in New York charming a group of conservative bigwigs — and likely donors to the Senate GOP’s 2010 campaign effort, which Cornyn is leading.

Cornyn’s decision to prioritize donor outreach over Senate business is a pretty stunning display of chutzpah. Here’s why …

Cornyn rarely misses a chance to blast Democrats for mixing politics with policy-making. During the U.S. attorneys scandal, he took the lead in lambasting Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for participating in the investigation while serving as the Democratic campaigns chief.

When then-Sen. Obama skipped a vote two years ago on a Cornyn resolution criticizing MoveOn.org, the Texas Republican clucked judgmentally that it had been a chance “for every senator to declare, with not only their voices but also with their votes, that they fully support our troops.” So what was the stimulus vote that Cornyn missed? An opportunity for every senator to declare their beliefs on how to fix the economy … unless there was a previous engagement?

Or, as one source put it to me, “Can you imagine if this was a Dem leader? The right-wing echo chamber would be all lit up by now.”

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