I don’t know a single Republican leaning blog that got tipped off about Senator John Cornyn’s memo to the Senate Republican Conference. Brian Walsh from the NRSC just emailed to let me know he had, in fact, emailed me earlier today with a copy of the email. For reasons unbeknownst to either of us, I got one responding to the Devore press release, but no others.
The Hill, CNN, and other media outlets were furnished sneak peaks of it.
Finally, CNN released the text. What is more interesting about the memo is what it does not say than what it does say. Let’s dive in.
First, there is no mention of Florida. Remember Florida and Charlie Crist? By the way, watch this.
In Florida, the NRSC first drew the ire of the conservative blogosphere by lining up behind the fundamentally flawed Florida Governor, Crist. Crist made headlines when Barack Obama referred to him as his favorite Republican after Crist engaged in some love banter over Obama’s stimulus and environmental policies. Crist, too, is a cap and trade fan.
There is no mention of that seat.
Now, some might say that this is a seat already held by the GOP, so why highlight it. Except, the memo does mention Kentucky and Missouri — both held by the GOP.
Is the failure to mention Florida a way of avoiding awkward questions about Crist’s appointing his errand boy to the Senate?
Cornyn, a Senator from Texas, also does not mention Texas. The NRSC has failed to rally around Michael Williams, despite repeatedly fluffing up the media talking points on diversity outreach initiatives in candidate recruiting.
Is the failure to mention Texas a hint that Kay Bailey Hutchison may not continue her gubernatorial run, choosing instead to stay in the Senate?
Then there are two things the memo does talk about that need to be examined even more closely.
