tags: , , , Blog

Sen. John Cornyn’s Pledge to Oppose DREAM Act: Morally Bankrupt, Politically Stupid

Share This:

Sen. John CornynIn a town where political hypocrisy is in no short supply, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) manages to take things to another level.  In his latest instance of “getting to no” on immigration, Cornyn opposes taking up the DREAM Act because, he says, Americans want Congress to focus on border security only.  Cornyn accused Democrats of playing politics by bringing up the legislation:

“I’m certainly sympathetic to the plight of these kids who through no fault of their own, find themselves in this predicament, but the kind of games that Majority Leader Reid is playing here seem more designed to play politics than they do actually to try to solve the problem.”

According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“The fact that John Cornyn continues to claim to be a supporter of immigration reform, as he hides behind a facade of excuses, tortured logic, and short-sighted politics to avoid doing anything on immigration, is morally bankrupt and politically stupid. Is he that enthralled by the Michelle Malkins of the world, that he would rather abandon any semblance of political courage and march the Republican Party in Texas and nationwide off a dangerous cliff when it comes to Latino voters?

“Or could it be that Senator Cornyn doesn’t want to have to vote on the DREAM Act, because then he would have to choose between appealing to the darkest side of America that Malkin represents, or supporting thousands of bright, talented, and patriotic immigrant youth?”

Let’s unpack the John Cornyn approach to immigration policy:  Claim that you support immigration reform, but refuse to work with Democratic Senators to address it.  Spout off about the need for “border security first,” a tough-sounding yet vacuous policy prescription that involves continually moving the goalposts on actual border security benchmarks, instead of addressing the fundamentals of why the system is broken in the first place. Ignore that fact that the federal government has dramatically increased border security and spending, crimes along the border have plummeted, and every day enforcement efforts are on the rise. Then, when Democrats, who have met an impasse on comprehensive reform, attempt to bring up a smaller measure that has bipartisan support, claim that you can’t support the effort because it’s about “playing politics.”  

No hypocrisy there.