Cornyn Watch, Update: Senator Cornhole Changes To The Other Side On Medicare

But the question is, will he change back?

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was one of several Republican senators who finally decided to vote against the Bush administration's Medicare cuts Wednesday, when the Senate cast another vote on the bill. Could it be that Senator Cornhole has carefully considered the ramifications for his re-election campaign?

Both Cornyn and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, were among the 40 who earlier kept the Senate from reaching the 60 votes to invoke cloture the last time this bill came to a Senate vote. It was 58 for, 40 against. This time, enough of the GOPhers switched to make it 69-30, seemingly a veto-proof majority for H.R 6331, the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.

But what if Il Doofus comes through with the anticipated veto? Will Senator Cornhole, or for that matter, 1962 edition UT cheerleader Kay Bailey (H), stick with the majority, or cave? (Cue in cheesy organ music.)

This may be interesting to watch. As mentioned on this blog before, Cornyn has a very credible challenger in his bid for a second Senate term. State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, trails by only single digits in most Texas polls -- pretty good for a Texas Democrat in recent years.

"Go Team" Kay has a rep for being almost a "moderate" Republican by contemporary standards, so her switch in time wasn't shocking. Senator Cornhole has been a more of a reliable water boy for Il Doofus' team, so that switch actually surprised me a bit. But of course, he wants a second term. And when the Texas Medical Association withdrew an endorsement of him after the first vote, that probably made an impression.

Let's see what he does when this comes to brass tacks. But no matter what Cornhole does, if I were Rick Noriega, I wouldn't let the old people or the medical establishment of this state forget about that first vote. Stay tuned.

Postscript: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was absent for this vote.