Sen. John Cornyn is the reason the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed under President Joe Biden. While the bill wasn't as bad as it could have been--and I'll give Cornyn some credit for getting it toned down--the truth of the matter is that it never would have passed without him and his fellow turncoats. Yeah, he helped tone it down, but he should have held the line.
He didn't, and I said then that I wanted to see him lose his next primary.
Enter Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He challenged Cornyn, and as things currently stand, he's likely to beat him.
And that was before Trump threw a political grenade at Cornyn's campaign.
Trump has given Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton his “Complete and Total Endorsement” in the Republican runoff against Sen. John Cornyn, calling Paxton a “true MAGA Warrior” and specifically citing his commitment to “Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.”
That last line should get the attention of every gun owner in Texas.
This race is not just another Republican primary fight. It is now a direct test of whether Texas gun owners want to send another establishment Republican back to Washington after years of excuses, compromises, and “bipartisan” gun-control deals, or whether they want a fighter who has actually gone to court against the Biden gun-control machine.
Paxton and Cornyn advanced to the May 26 runoff after the March 3 primary, with Rep. Wesley Hunt finishing third. The winner will face Democrat James Talarico in November.
Cornyn’s record is no mystery to Second Amendment voters. Gun-rights groups, AmmoLand, and grassroots activists have already covered it extensively. Cornyn was not a passive bystander in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. He was one of the Senate Republicans who made the Biden-backed gun-control package possible.
The truth of the matter is that gun rights voters should never just be meekly Republican in their voting habits. They need to be willing to upset the apple cart and keep GOP officials honest on the Second Amendment.
Cornyn wasn't. He sold us out for some temporary popularity, only with a group that simply was never going to support him longterm.
Paxton isn't everyone's favorite Republican, but he's a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, which makes him infinitely more pallatable for most Texan gun owners.
Look, there are times for crossing the aisle and working with Democrats on something, so long as they're willing to do the same in return from time to time.
Guns, however, ain't one of them.
For generations, the anti-gunners have been trying to winnow our right to keep and bear arms into oblivion, and one of the best things we could manage was a stalemate on the issue in Congress. It meant that the right was being preserved better in some places than others, but it also meant it was being preserved.
Cornyn and his buddies, all of whom need to also be bounced out of office, crossed the line and sold out our civil liberties. It wasn't the spirit of compromise, it was the spirit of capitulation that drove them, and we simply don't need that.
Trump is backing Paxton, and since he easily took Texas in 2024, that's going to mean something.
I hope Cornyn has a plan for what to do after January, because if not, he needs to touch up his resume.
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