Texas Senator Bucks Trend, Stands Solidly by Bush

In a sea of Republican doubt, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is all about certainty.

He is certain that President Bush's decision to send more troops into battle is the right move. He is certain that Democratic war thinking is wrong. Despite the growing misgivings of so many GOP lawmakers, Cornyn is certain that the United States should stay in Iraq until the job is done.

The freshman senator is such a throwback to the early days of GOP fealty to Bush that his Senate Web site includes a "compassionate conservatism" link. Choosing survival over solidarity, other Republicans are seeking political cover. Cornyn, 55, is one of 20 GOP senators up for reelection in 2008, but he is trying a different strategy from most of the others: unwavering loyalty.

He not only supports Bush's troop-increase plan, but he describes any alternative in the starkest possible terms. "Are we going to allow Iraq to become another failed state which will then serve as a launching pad for future terrorist attacks, perhaps including against the United States?" Cornyn asked during a recent Senate floor speech.

"Now is not the time to choose a path of retreat and defeat -- as many of the [Howard] Dean Democrats would have us follow," he said in defending Bush's anti-terrorism strategy.

Cornyn opposes a nonbinding resolution approved by the House yesterday that criticizes Bush's decision to boost troop levels in Iraq. The Senate is scheduled to meet in a special weekend session today to decide whether to begin debating that resolution.

Cornyn is a favorite at the White House, but his unalloyed defense of Bush's Iraq policies have some back home wondering whether he has gone too far.

"He's pretty much married himself to the president and to Karl" Rove, Bush's top political adviser, said Harvey Kronberg, editor of the Quorum Report political newsletter. "I'm just speculating, but we like to see a modest amount of independence here in Texas."

With his white hair and tall, regal bearing, Cornyn showed up in Washington in January 2003 as a Bush insider. He had a long friendship with Rove and possessed a nickname bestowed upon him by the president: "Corndog." Speaking at a campaign event before Cornyn's election, Bush called the former Texas attorney general "a man who can help us get some things done to make America a safer and stronger and better place for all of us."

The new senator's White House connections gave him instant clout. Cornyn won a seat on the high-profile, and highly partisan, Judiciary Committee and quickly took a prominent role in several major political battles, including a long-running dispute with Democrats over some of Bush's most conservative judicial nominees.

He gained a reputation as a vocal, if somewhat predictable, advocate for the conservative agenda. The one area where Cornyn has broken with Bush is immigration -- the senator has staked out a more conservative position. Having formerly served on the Texas Supreme Court, Cornyn is particularly bothered by "activist" judges, whom he accuses of promoting liberal causes from the bench.

The Democrats' takeover of Congress last fall was a wake-up call for many Republicans to begin distancing themselves from the White House. Cornyn himself branched out recently by teaming up with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) on a tobacco-regulation bill and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on a homeland security funding measure.