John Cornyn Quotes
I don't really think it's appropriate for me to be picking and choosing in the primaries. It's pretty dumb politics for a Republican to choose between Republicans in a contested primary because obviously you're going to be offending some people.
Cornyn, John. Interview. The Texas Tribune, 2016.
Republican Party primary elections had become very contentious. The radical right and the Tea Party, though a minority of the party, had the power to destroy almost any Republican candidate’s chances. So those Republican political candidates were forced to pander to the extreme right and then try and backtrack to the center for the general election. As a result, few people believed the statements of Republican office seekers as no one knew what they really believed including members of their own party, Bush, no longer running for any political position, found himself with much more credibility and influence in the party than those who were running for office. The problem of appealing to party extremes was not unique to the Republicans at that time, but the degree and extent was unprecedented accounting for the distrust.
The Repubican primary contest weakened Mitt Romney, the eventual primary winner and Presidential Candidate, by forcing him to the right to satisfy the conservative Republicans. This made him very unappealing not only to some moderate republicans but also to independents and especially to minorities and women who very much resented the conservative Republican culture clash which they saw as attacks on them. Democrat Barack Obama won the General Election handily.
John Cornyn III is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States Senator for Texas since 2002. He was the Republican Senate Majority Whip for the 114th and 115th Congresses. Cornyn also previously served as Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2007 to 2011.
