Ken Paxton’s triumph is bad news for Texas, America and conservatism | Opinion
Ken Paxton’s obliteration of John Cornyn in Texas’ Republican U.S. Senate runoff Tuesday night was resounding, and not just because the challenger got a double-digit win over a four-term incumbent.
Paxton’s ascension resonates because it is a blow for all the wrong things in politics: populism unmoored from principle, the elevation of combative personality over effectiveness, and the devaluing of character in our leaders — and, ultimately, ourselves.
Politically, Paxton deserves all credit. He rose from obscurity in the Legislature. He won statewide office for attorney general three times with credible fraud and corruption allegations lodged against him. He beat a strong impeachment case and exacted revenge on some of the Republicans who came for him. Then, Paxton targeted one of the titans of his own state party and absolutely drubbed him for all the world to see.
History will record these as impressive political achievements. It will also note that they came with a heavy price — one that the rest of us, not Paxton, are paying.
I’m struck by something a voter told Star-Telegram reporter Rachel Royster at a Keller polling place: Paxton is a crook, she said, but at least he’s not a “Republican in Name Only.”
Every voter gets to choose his or her own criteria for casting a ballot. But if some small deviation from a perfect voting record or perceived slight to President Donald Trump’s ego is enough to make corruption acceptable, the republic is at risk.
Don’t take my word for it. John Adams, the driving force behind the Declaration of Independence and second president of the U.S., said “public virtue cannot exist in a nation without [private virtue], and public virtue is the only foundation of republics.”
But hey, he was probably a FINO (Federalist in Name Only) in his day, right?
The idea that Cornyn lost because he wasn’t conservative enough is an excuse, a distortion of what conservatism actually means. Worst of all, it feeds a vicious cycle that will prevent actual conservative governing victories.
The discounting of Cornyn’s steady but, yes, sometimes incremental achievements on behalf of conservative values and priorities reinforces a damaging fantasy view of politics: If our side only fights hard enough and never, ever compromises, we can crush the opposition and have 100% of what we want forever and ever.
The American political system doesn’t work that way. It moves over time, sometimes with big wins, like Ronald Reagan’s landslides, and sometimes with compromises. The Gipper himself said he’d take 80% of what he wanted if he could get it. “There are some people who would have you so stand on principle that if you don’t get all that you’ve asked for … why, you jump off the cliff with the flag flying.”
But, hey, he was an amnesty-loving RINO, right?
A system that denies you total victory may be frustrating at times, but it’s better for you in the long run. Your opponents will someday take power — and in a 50/50 nation, perhaps much sooner than you think. If your side could get total victory, the other can, too.
Paxton will learn this, perhaps the hard way, if he’s elected to the Senate. In six or 12 years, he could be the one drawing eye-rolls over some obscure vote.
One underappreciated factor, too, is that politicians sometimes just wear out their welcome. Cornyn bragged Tuesday that he’d won 18 elections in his career before losing this one. Sometimes, the voters just want to change the channel, and the show gets cancelled.
But Cornyn exits with a significant record of achievement, helping confirm conservative justices, secure the border and cut taxes. Don’t take my word for it: His predecessor, the sometimes-cantankerous former Sen. Phil Gramm, tried to tell people that Cornyn had compiled this impressive record without compromising his integrity.
Gramm was a three-term senator at a time when a Republican had to work to win in Texas. He carried Reagan’s tax cuts when he was in the House.
But, hey, Gramm’s probably a RINO, right?
Enjoy the glow of Tuesday night, Mr. Attorney General. In all fairness, you earned it. But just like Reagan, Cornyn and Gramm, the clock is counting down to the day when the true believers will question your commitment to the totality of the cause, too.
