John Cornyn has picked his preferred opponent. He is a rich, white, anti-choice trial lawyer with zero experience, and he is just one of three men running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. His name is Mikal Watts, and his deep pockets may make Junior Cornyn’s wish a reality.
Mikal Watts is a successful trial lawyer who has helped fund Democrats and Republicans alike, but has been instrumental in pushing Democratic state house candidates over the edge to victory.
At the end of the day, Watts is still a trial lawyer in a state that just 4 years ago said it wanted to hamper litigation against doctors. The Republicans called it tort reform, and nearly 52% of Texans sided with the conservatives and Karl Rove.
Karl Rove is a strong supporter of Cornyn and the dirty Rovian political campaigns are already becoming evident in the Lone Star state.
Cornyn's trip with Rove might seem surprising because the senator recently began distancing himself from the president on the issue of immigration. But from his 2002 election until recently, Cornyn has been a staunch Bush supporter.
Rove helped Cornyn win election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1996, recruited Cornyn to run for state attorney general in 1998 and again to run for the U.S. Senate in 2002.
From a Houston Chronicle article, "U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's political money-raising operation has wasted no time in playing the trial lawyer card against potential Democratic opponent Mikal Watts, an attorney from San Antonio."
The hits keep on rolling...
Cornyn has scheduled a series of fundraisers for the weekend of July 20, featuring presidential adviser Karl Rove as the main attraction. But an invitation letter for the Harlingen event also plays off Republican reactions to trial lawyers.
"We will also have the opportunity to help the senator begin preparing for what appears to be a wealthy, self-financed personal injury lawyer opponent," said a Cornyn campaign committee letter signed by James G. Springfield, CEO of Valley Baptist Health System in Harlingen.
A Cornyn fundraising letter sent out last month by John Nau of Houston noted: "Unfortunately, John appears to have drawn a very wealthy personal injury lawyer Mikal Watts as a potential opponent." Cornyn's aides declined to discuss the specifics of his letters.
According to a liberal Texas blog, Burnt Orange Report, Watts has filed a statement with the U.S. Senate indicating he intends to expend personal funds totaling $10 million. He listed $3,810,661.81 for the primary and $6,189,333.19 for the General Election, totaling $9,999,995.
In addition Watts has given the Cornyn camp even more fodder announcing it has raised nearly $1.1 million dollars in its first 30 days of campaign. While that is impressive, Watts raise the entire thing with just 800 donors for an average donation just south of $1,500. Tom Allen on the other hand raised $1.1 million in Maine from 9,000 donors for an average contribution of just $122. That is people powered politics.
Luckily for Texas, we have options. As DailyKos mentioned in a diary rescue, Houston Representative, Lt. Col. Rick Noriega is eying a run.
State Rep. Rick Noriega, 49, of Houston plans to hold a news conference Monday on the south lawn of the Texas Capitol to announce the formation of his exploratory committee for the Democratic nomination.
Texas group blog StopCornyn.com has even more details on the announcement, but what is clear, Texas needs a candidate above reproach in order to defeat John Cornyn. Imagine John Tester or Jim Webb as rich white trial lawyer, imagine a Senate that still had rising star George Allen or Kooky Conrad Burns. It is time to think outside the box.