Not Now John We’ve Gotta Get Out of Here

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has put a hold on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) confirmation as secretary of state. Why?

This is not an effort to scuttle or block the nomination, but a legitimate policy difference. Senator Cornyn’s goal is to create transparency on all levels of government.

Look, if Cornyn thinks that the secretary of state-nominee — who was First Lady of the United States for a little while, remember — is allowing some sort of national security risk by not declaring her husband’s income and donations to his foundation, he should say so. If not, he’s doing his best to cement his image as a blow-dried buffoon who threatens to filibuster the seating of senators who won close elections and allows staffers to release videos of him riding a horse and answering to the name “Big Bad John.” At the same time, I appreciate Cornyn’s honesty. A lot of Republicans stepped in it during the Democratic primaries by pretending they had a deep respect for Clinton and thought she, not President Obama, was qualified to be the chief executive. Cornyn isn’t so patronizing.