Cornyn: 2014 and beyond about ‘mitigating Obama policies’By Glenn Evans The senior senator from Texas predicted little movement in Congress for the rest of the year on immigration reform, or much of anything, during a campaign stop in Longview Sunday.
“I think this is going to be about mitigating the policies of the president,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn said, noting the GOP needs a net six-seat gain to win control of the Senate. “We’ll be in strategic position to mitigate some of the harm of some of those policies.”Cornyn brushed off a recent, milder push-back on Obamacare to “mend it, don’t end it.”
“You can’t actually update the policies and tune them to the needs of the country through that process,” he said. “But the biggest fight we’ve had is trying to live within our means, to quit spending more than we take in. And that’s been a big problem with president Obama.”
Cornyn faces seven fellow Republicans in the March 4 primary, for which early voting starts Tuesday. Some of those opponents are trying to outflank him on the political right, with at least one calling him too liberal.
“I think a lot of this just needs to get settled on March 4,” Cornyn said. “There’s nothing you can do about misrepresentations of your record.”
The senator said the president’s push to raise the minimum wage is misguided.
“I see the minimum wage discussion as trying to deal with a symptom of the problem and not the problem itself,” he said. “The problem itself is the economy not taking off and starting to grow again.”
Cornyn expressed disappointment with the war in Iraq and concern as America draws down its presence in Afghanistan.
He said America failed to win a status of force agreement in Iraq, which would have left some American forces there.
“And a lot of the gains have been squandered,” he said. “And I hope that doesn’t happen in Afghanistan.”
And Cornyn was skeptical of any American involvement in civil war-torn Syria, including providing humanitarian aid.
“It’s a sad situation,” he said. “It’s hard for me to see how America’s national interests are at stake.”
Cornyn was joined at the fundraiser by Karl Rove, senior adviser to the super PAC, American Crossroads. The former chief of staff for President George W. Bush acknowledged the Republican Party’s challenge winning women voters and defended the GOP Texas track record with Latinos.
“Yeah. Every party has its own challenge, and we’ve always had a challenge with women,” he said, before noting successes in the Hispanic community by Bush and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who now is running for governor. “So, if you’re a Republican candidate, you’re used to campaigning in the Latino community.”
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