In this year’s Senatorial race, more than just partisan control of the U.S. Senate is at stake. There also lies a pending collision between presidential pride and a Texan’s opportunity to make history.
Ron Kirk, the Democratic candidate for Senate, has the chance to become the first black man elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas. Kirk would also reclaim the seat once held by Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson.
President Bush has provided a lot of visible support for Republican nominee John Cornyn. Losing a Senate race in his own state, particularly for a seat that has been held by a Republican since 1961, would add insult to injury.
Also on the ballot are Libertarian Scott Lanier Jameson, Green Party candidate Roy H. Williams and write-in candidate James W. Wright.
Cornyn, Texas attorney general, has tied his campaign to Bush’s popularity in the state. Vowing to assist the president enacting his major proposals, Cornyn has also received campaign help from first lady Laura Bush and other members of the Bush family.
Kirk, a former Dallas mayor, is campaigning more cautiously. Endorsing some of the president’s proposals and opposing others, he has tried to avoid offending independent voters who support President Bush while appealing to national Democratic groups whose financial support is crucial to his campaign.
Cornyn supports Bush’s proposed military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power, while Kirk says the president has made a compelling case for building an international coalition to remove the Iraqi dictator.
Brian Fox, a sophomore electrical engineering major, says he would agree with Cornyn on this issue.
“Democrats are too cautious.” He said. “They’ll agree with the president, but they always have a ‘but’ afterwards.”
Lately, Kirk has injected racial overtones into the debate. According to The Houston Chronicle, at a rally in San Antonio, Kirk suggested that Cornyn, who is white, was more comfortable supporting military action against Iraq because minority soldiers would do a disproportionate amount of the fighting. He said later that he regretted the remark.
When it comes to health care, Kirk favors tax credits to encourage small businesses to provide health coverage for employees. He wants to make it easier for eligible families to enroll in the children’s health insurance program, wants to make generic drugs more available, and favors giving Medicare beneficiaries access to affordable prescription drugs.
Cornyn also supports an optional prescription drug program for people on Medicare and proposes limiting damages in medical malpractice suits. Some consumers says limits on malpractice suits could jeopardize a Texas law that gives patients the right to sue a health maintenance organization for malpractice if the network denies payment of treatment recommended by a doctor. But Cornyn says he supports the HMO law.
Cornyn supports Bush’s call for Congress to make the 10-year, $1.35 trillion reduction in federal taxes enacted last year permanent. Kirk is cautious about extending the tax cuts beyond 2010 and also has doubts about phasing in cuts that are scheduled to take effect towards the end of this decade.
John Beaumont, a sophomore Accounting major, says he would be concerned with tax cuts during the current situation with Iraq.
“It doesn’t seem like getting $100 back or off your taxes seems that important when there are people getting ready to fight,” he said.
As for the abortion issue, Kirk favors abortion rights while Cornyn opposes them. Both candidates say they wouldn’t use that issue as a test for federal judicial nominees.
Jameson, the Libertarian candidate, advocates a balanced federal budget, a repeal of the federal income tax, the opportunity for Americans to invest all of their Social Security contributions in a private market, tax-free medical savings accounts and tax incentives to encourage more research into and development of renewable energy sources.
