A rare thing is happening in Texas: GOP senator John Cornyn, who has served for nearly 24 years, is facing a fierce primary challenge from state attorney general Ken Paxton. A runoff election in May will decide the nominee, and recent polls suggest that Democrats have a strong chance of claiming the seat in November. Today, former senator Phil Gramm describes how Texans’ choice will affect the country’s future. —The Editors
I am a strong supporter of John Cornyn, the GOP senator who is fending off a challenge from Ken Paxton in one of the biggest primary races in the history of the Senate. I admire and respect John, and I am appreciative of the job he has done in the Senate on behalf of Texas and America since he took office in 2002. I think it is fair to say that he has a job that I know something about, since I was privileged to represent Texas first in the House and then in the Senate for a quarter of a century, in the seat that John is now defending.
The first and most important decision I made when I was elected to the House in 1978 was that, when I was someday sitting on the front porch of a nursing home and one of my grandchildren asked me about what happened to America when I was in office, I wouldn’t tell them that things went to hell, with the excuse that I voted against it every step of the way. I decided that I wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren that I made a difference. I came to Washington to govern, not to protest; to change America, and not to give critical commentary on its decline. That is the pattern that John Cornyn has followed as a senator, and it is why I am so strongly committed to his reelection.
I am proud of what John has gotten done, of the leadership he has provided, and I also am proud of the image he has portrayed as a leader and a man. I can point to John Cornyn and tell my grandchildren that he is the kind of man I want them to grow up to be. John is a conservative and believes in free enterprise, individual freedom, and personal responsibility. He gets things done by being willing to work with other people. He goes out of his way to be sensitive to other people’s feelings in an era when ill will and hostility seem to dominate public life.
