To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Conference Calls
This morning, "Bloggers for Cornyn" had their first conference call with Senator Cornyn. (Did you notice the button in the sidebar?) It was shorter than I expected (which is a good thing, I guess... things to get done today and all that).
I did get to ask the first question, though, which was cool. (No, I wasn't picked... I just could press *1 faster than anyone else.) I thanked him for voting in favor of the DeMint Amendment which would have put a one year moratorium on earmarks (thanks for the idea, Conservative Belle), and I asked him how we could get the GOP to become the party of fiscal responsibility. He responded by saying that many of the Republican Congresscritters (my term, not his) misunderstood the bill. He saw the bill as a time out, where they could address the fundamental problems of earmarks (that they can be put in to bills without debate and somewhat anonymously). I personally would not have a problem with them just getting rid of them all together, but that's not politically feasible.
Senator Cornyn was also asked about rumors of an immigration bill coming down the pike this year. He said that he would love it if one did make it though, but he doubts that it will with the House and Senate rules as they are. (He also commented that people have said that you can't have that kind of legislation in an election year, but that- I can't remember who he was quoting- there has been an election every two years since this country was founded, and that can't be an excuse for not working on it.)
Senator Cornyn was also asked about the evangelical vote (it's important to the GOP) and how his campaign is going (great- bloggers are a very important part of his campaign).
It wasn't a bad first call. There will be more.
In the coming weeks, I'll write more about Senator Cornyn and why I've got his button in my sidebar. I'll do my best to be intellectually honest and point out where I agree and disagree with him. No candidate is the perfect candidate, but he's by far the best we have in this race.
I did get to ask the first question, though, which was cool. (No, I wasn't picked... I just could press *1 faster than anyone else.) I thanked him for voting in favor of the DeMint Amendment which would have put a one year moratorium on earmarks (thanks for the idea, Conservative Belle), and I asked him how we could get the GOP to become the party of fiscal responsibility. He responded by saying that many of the Republican Congresscritters (my term, not his) misunderstood the bill. He saw the bill as a time out, where they could address the fundamental problems of earmarks (that they can be put in to bills without debate and somewhat anonymously). I personally would not have a problem with them just getting rid of them all together, but that's not politically feasible.
Senator Cornyn was also asked about rumors of an immigration bill coming down the pike this year. He said that he would love it if one did make it though, but he doubts that it will with the House and Senate rules as they are. (He also commented that people have said that you can't have that kind of legislation in an election year, but that- I can't remember who he was quoting- there has been an election every two years since this country was founded, and that can't be an excuse for not working on it.)
Senator Cornyn was also asked about the evangelical vote (it's important to the GOP) and how his campaign is going (great- bloggers are a very important part of his campaign).
It wasn't a bad first call. There will be more.
In the coming weeks, I'll write more about Senator Cornyn and why I've got his button in my sidebar. I'll do my best to be intellectually honest and point out where I agree and disagree with him. No candidate is the perfect candidate, but he's by far the best we have in this race.
