Cornyn Better Watch His Back-- DeMint's Got A Million Prayers He Can Turn Loose On Him

In 2002 Texas Senator Phil Gramm, having accomplished all the banksters had asked him to do, decided that rather than run for the Senate again he could make a lot more money as a bank lobbyist. So John Cornyn ran for the open seat and won. (Gramm sucked up $5,513,718 in contributions" from the finance sector and so far Cornyn, in a much shorter time, has taken in $4,690,892 from the same crooked banksters.) Gramm was the third biggest recipient of legalistic oil company bribes in the history of Congress-- after John McCain and Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Cornyn is 4th but is expected to overtake Gramm's record early next year and surpass Kay Bailey and McCain long before his next reelection bid in 2014.

He was just reelected to head the NRSC, the corrupt committee charged with winning Senate seats for Republicans. And this week, in closed door caucus session, he went after Jim DeMint, who is widely blamed for having kept the GOP from winning control of the Senate by helping torpedo mainstream conservative Republicans in favor of reactionary and-- more to the point-- unelectable sociopaths like Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell. DeMint doesn't get the kind of corporate bribes that Cornyn does. Big Oil has only given him $231,939 and the finance sector a mere $2,612,173. But if "Big John" Cornyn were to piss off DeMint badly enough, DeMint could make his reelection propsects a lot less bright. DeMint has a different kind of non-traditional power inside the GOP.

DeMint did not respond to Cornyn’s comments, the Republicans said. However, the two lawmakers have had several conversations since Election Day, GOP aides familiar with the situation said.

NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh declined to comment, but according to Republicans, Cornyn delivered his warning in a speech to the entire Conference during their leadership elections. In the speech, Cornyn noted that some members of the Conference were unhappy with the conservative credentials of Cornyn’s picks and opted to actively work against them during the 2010 cycle.

Rather than attack candidates who have been backed explicitly by the NRSC or by a state’s party, Cornyn said, unhappy Members should come to him with their concerns.

Cornyn’s speech and his post-election meetings with DeMint are unlikely to curb the South Carolinian’s efforts to forge a more conservative GOP Conference in the Senate. Although he did not have the kinds of successes this year that would warrant the title of conservative kingmaker, he nevertheless was a key player in the victories of Sens. elect Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rand Paul (Ky.).

His Senate Conservatives Fund political action committee also helped funnel thousands of dollars to conservative [when Inside-the-Beltway publications like Roll Call say "conservative," they actually mean "reactionary" or "fascist;" conservatives are called "moderates"] candidates, and DeMint has built over the past two years a significant donor list to help fund future campaign efforts.

Additionally, there have been long-standing rumors that those close to DeMint actively worked behind the scenes to help Republican Mike Lee in his successful primary bid against Sen. Bob Bennett (Utah), although DeMint has repeatedly denied those claims. Lee went on to win the general election.

While DeMint is still expected to actively support conservative candidates in primaries for open seats or seats held by Democrats, he said Thursday that he has agreed not to “plan” to support primary challengers looking to oust any of his colleagues.

“I have no plans to oppose incumbent Republicans in primaries, but I do plan to play an active role in primaries where there is a Democrat incumbent or an open seat. It’s important that principled candidates like Marco Rubio and Rand Paul are not overlooked by our party,” DeMint said.

Cornyn and McConnell had not just backed mainstream conservatives Charlie Crist and Trey Grayson for those two seats, they had recruited and helped finance them. DeMint's interference in those races-- as well as in Utah-- have weakened the Establishment conservatives and strengthened the reactionary-- or even neo-fascist-- forces inside the GOP caucus. Although Rubio is likely to revert to his Establishment roots-- many say the teabag thing was just a pose-- Mike Lee and Rand Paul are out-of-control kooks on a level with some of the more outrageous and dangerous Republicans elected in the House-- from Daniel Webster, Allen West, Sandy Adams and Steve Southerland (the 4 fringe lunatics elected in Florida) to anti-gay zealot Vicky Hartzler (who replaced less of a zealot but still effectively plenty anti-gay incumbent Ike Skelton), obsessed racist Lou Barletta, all around teabag crackpot Alan Nunnelee, and Karl Rove protégé Tim Griffin. And DeMint has plenty of fringy allies if he really decides to take Cornyn (or McConnell) down a peg:

Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, issued the following statement regarding a declaration in support of Senator Jim DeMint signed by 56 Tea Party and conservative leaders that was sent to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, National Republican Senatorial Committee John Cornyn, and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele:

"As recently as two days ago, a bitter Lisa Murkowski joined the ranks of GOP establishment whiners who wrongly claim Senator Jim DeMint's support for constitutional conservatives somehow cost Republicans a majority in the Senate.

"Members of the GOP establishment tried to undermine Ronald Reagan in the '60s and '70s, but failed. They will fail in their efforts to undermine Senator DeMint, and the consequences will be far-reaching to the party committees.

"Conservative leaders want it made clear that they consider any attack on Senator Jim DeMint as an attack on conservatives and Tea Partiers.

"Constitutional conservatives stand behind Senator Jim DeMint, who, more than any elected Republican official, is responsible for energizing the conservative base and keeping the Tea Partiers in, or moving them to, the GOP."

On top of that the American Taliban, led by hatemonger Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, is asking religious fanatics to pray for DeMint. "When the establishment failed to energize the base with its moderate platform, Senator DeMint became a crusader for principled conservatism that reached beyond the GOP,” Perkins said. “We want the men and women from both parties to know that an attack on Senator DeMint is an attack on all conservatives and people of faith. He says hee'll have a million of his followers "pray on a regular basis for Senator DeMint.”