Sen. John Cornyn was too busy securing campaign funds to address economic meltdown. What a hypocrite!

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Welcome back to the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was one of the most outspoken critics of the newly-passed stimulus package. He spoke in dire terms, warning that it could damage our economy in the future. He told everyone that would listen and some of us who would have preferred not to) how terrible it was.

Some of this is just John being John. But his dramatic words clashed with his actions last week, making him look like a rebel without a cause.

In an interview with a Texas television station, he whined, "I don't think its fair that Texans have to spend their federal tax dollars on states that couldn't manage their financial situations." He even railed against tax cuts in the bill, saying that they didn't work under Bush and they wouldn't work this time either (for a second help of hypocrisy, let's note Cornyn's support for the Bush tax cuts).

So he doesn't want money to go to states, he doesn't want it to go to taxpayers... hmm. Sounds like he wants to do nothing about the financial crisis.

Sure enough, that's what he did. After complaining about nearly every aspect of the stimulus package, Cornyn couldn't even be bothered to be present in the Senate chambers for the vote. Cornyn was the only senator to miss this crucial vote.

And what was so important that he couldn't stick around long enough to lodge a formal complaint? Speaking to Wall Streeters in New York, apparently. He was hobnobbing for dollars, what with money being so tight these days. Ben Smith writes that it technically wasn't a fundraiser, but "a hub of conservative money and buzz, a good place for Cornyn to tap into resources in his role as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee."

Smith also dished that Cornyn's speech included referring to "Chuck Schumer as a 'human vacuum cleaner.'" Not quite sure what to make of that one out of context, but we can assume Cornyn was talking about how the magic of suction can get us out of the financial crisis on the cheap.

We're certainly not the only ones to notice Cornyn's hypocrisy. MoveOn.org made their displeasure clear with a radio ad:

"Cornyn made it clear who he really works for. On Monday, instead of voting to save tens of thousands of jobs and billions in tax cuts for Texas, Senator Cornyn was in New York City toasting Wall Street donors and political insiders -- the same people who got us into this mess."

Listen to the whole thing here.

One would hope that Cornyn would sheepishly withdraw from the issue after being caught with his hands in the cookie jar while he should've been doing his homework. Instead, his press secretary issued a "nuh uh!" insisting that somehow Cornyn was actually there to vote. Nice try, buddy.

Cornyn's windbaggery probably has more to do with his new job trying to get people to give money to and vote for Republicans. Which means the rest of us have to endure at least two more years of Cornyn's two-faced bloviating, even if he has to make up his voting record to go with his talking points.

Remember our motto: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.

This is John Cornyn's second GOP Hypocrite of the Week Award. You can read his first here and see a list of previous nominees here.

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