Republican Sen. John Cornyn provides the kind of balanced leadership Texas needs in Washington. He’s conservative but not inflexibly so. In his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, he has risen to the GOP’s No. 2 leadership position by focusing on getting the nation’s business done instead of engaging in extreme, divisive poliltics. This newspaper unhesitatingly recommends him for re-election.
Democratic challenger David Alameel, 62, a Dallas dental clinic entrepreneur, displays an earnest desire to fight what he describes as a multinational corporate stranglehold on Washington. But his lack of elective-office experience and the fact that his campaign relies on self-financing suggests he’s not quite ready to represent Texas on the national stage. The Senate floor is no place to cut your teeth in politics.
Alameel has many political positions worth serious consideration. Sometimes, though, he goes beyond what’s prudent, such as his call to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and suggestion that a tariff war would pressure China into cooperating on global environmental issues. The world isn’t that simple.
Cornyn, 62, shares this newspaper’s call for fiscal conservatism in Washington. He has a firm grasp of international affairs, whether it’s the jihadist threat in Iraq and Syria or the need to build close political and commercial ties with India.
Cornyn hasn’t taken as strong a stand on immigration reform as we’d like, but he has moved the ball forward with constructive bipartisan proposals, in sharp contrast to his more ideologically obstinate colleagues. For example, Cornyn worked earlier this year with Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar on a plan to accelerate judicial proceedings for thousands of Central American migrants flooding into Texas.
As the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Cornyn has been particularly active on issues that won’t necessarily win him votes but certainly fall in the right-thing-to-do category. Take, for example, his bipartisan effort to speed the testing of thousands of rape kits that have sat on police evidence shelves, sometimes for years at a time. When they go untested, victims must continue living with the terror that their attacker hasn’t faced justice and remains free to attack again.
Texans are best advised to leave their Senate representation to a skilled and proven leader rather than gamble on an inexperienced newcomer. Also running are Libertarian candidate Rebecca Paddock and Emily “Spicybrown” Sanchez of the Green Party.
About this editorial
This is part of a series of Dallas Morning News recommendations for the upcoming general elections.
Voter Guide: Compare candidates’ answers to questionnaires tailored to their contest. dallasnews.com/voterguide
Early voting starts: Oct. 20 Early voting ends: Oct. 31 Election Day: Nov. 4
For more information:
Collin County: 1-800-687-8546; co.collin.tx.us/elections
Dallas County: 214-819-6300; dallascountyvotes.org
Denton County: 940-349-3200; votedenton.com
Tarrant County: 817-831-8683; tarrantcounty.com/eVote
For more help, including how to check your registration status, contact the Texas secretary of state at 1-800-252-8683 or visit votetexas.gov.
