National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair John Cornyn has the tough job of trying to regain his party's majority in that chamber. It's a task that's not being made any easier by folks calling the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee a racist, and so here he is pushing back on that. Primaries that push his candidates to the right and cost them money also don't help, so he's trying to convince the base they can't have a monlithic party of conservatives. Thus, "while we all might wish for a Party comprised only of people who agree with us 100 percent of the time, this is a pipedream.* Each Party is fundamentally a coalition of individuals rallying around core principles with some variations along the way."
Indeed. And for the GOP to start acting that way, Republicans who are actually accountable need to start acting as party leaders and broadcasting this message. "Big John" Cornyn is not a moderate. He's a conservative fella from Texas who, and I quote, "makes lesser states squirm." But the thing about actually being responsible for winning elections is that it forces you to confront the facts, and in Cornyn's case, the fact is that his party needs a broader coalition. It's the magic of democracy. But as long as folks who don't have to deal with the reality of electoral consequences -- Newt Gingrich, etc. -- are acting as Republican spokespeople and calling Sotomayor a racist, it's going to be hard for Cornyn to do much about to help the GOP's fortunes.
-- Tim Fernholz
*I always think it's funny when politicians describe something as a pipe dream. And as far as pipe dreams go, wishing for everyone to agree with you seems pretty tame.
