Throwing in the Towel

Texas Senator John Cornyn got a dose of good news on Tuesday; his highly fundraised Democratic opponent Mikal Watts dropped out of the 2008 race to try and boot him out of the Senate. Watts had out-raised Cornyn with a total of 8.6 million dollars compared to Cornyn’s 6.6, though 7.7 million of Watts total was out of his own pocket.

Watts stated he threw in the towel because he felt like his rigorous campaigning was having a negative affect on his children. However, despite his large sum of campaign money, many pundits believed that his Democratic opponent Rick Noriega had a better chance at winning the nomination and eventually booting Cornyn out of office. Noriega is an Afghanistan War veteran and a Hispanic giving him a better chance at winning the Hispanic vote unlike the very wealthy Watts. As well, Watts had taken plenty of scrutiny from liberal Democrats because of his pro-life stance on abortion.

So, way to go fellow Democrats.You convinced the only man capable of beating Cornyn to quit. Yeah, Noriega may have had a better chance of winning the Democratic nomination, but with his limited funds, he doesn’t have what it takes to get his message heard across the state like Watts did. I admit, I am not a fan of Watts elaborate spending for his own cause, but I will gladly accept a selfish rich man that can improve our health care and education systems in Texas over an honest man who can’t win office.

The attention paid to his stance on abortion is absolutely ridiculous. So the man is conservative on one issue, that doesn’t mean the issue is going to be at the top of his agenda. If anything, the Democratic Party could use more politicians who are pro-life to sway more Christian votes. This could be especially important in gaining a majority of Roman Catholic voters and ensuring a strong hold on Hispanic voters. Sadly, there are many people who vote solely on the issue of abortion, and if they were faced with two pro-life candidates, they would be forced to look at other issues.

In the end, voters are gong to be faced with the choice of an experienced and recognizable Senator who has the support of the president, or a man who no one knows much about. The question will be whether the Hispanics ever show up to the polls to give Noriega enough support to win, or whether Cornyn will be so unpopular that voters will vote for anyone to get Cornyn out of office. Either way, it should be a race that demands attention.

- Garrett

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