John Cornyn Quotes

The Violence Against Women Act has been a true bipartisan success story since it was first enacted in 1994. In my home state of Texas alone, its programs have helped hundreds of thousands of victims to break free from the terrible cycle of domestic violence.

- John Cornyn

But I do think it's unwise, and it - to build a mosque at the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of a terrorist attack. And I think to me it demonstrates that the - that Washington, the White House, the administration, the President himself seems to be disconnected from the mainstream of America.

- John Cornyn

Why is it that half of the households in America pay zero income tax? We need some real tax reform.

- John Cornyn

I can't imagine the American people voting for Hillary Clinton to serve basically the third term of Barack Obama. And I think whoever the Republican primary voters and the delegates nominate, I will support that nominee wholeheartedly against a Hillary Clinton candidacy.

- John Cornyn

When it rains, it pours - figuratively and literally.

- John Cornyn

Justices are not politicians. They don't run on a political platform, and senators should not ask them to do so.

- John Cornyn

I don't know whether John Roberts has a twin, perhaps a sister or, uh, someone with a Hispanic last name.

- John Cornyn

I am pleased to report that Texas is known for having one of the strongest set of open government laws in our Nation. And ever since that experience, I have long believed that our federal government could use 'a little Texas sunshine.'

- John Cornyn

But I think the - what the tea party movement demonstrates, and I think the, the, the enthusiasm that we're seeing from independents and Republicans, is that if Washington isn't going to change itself, then we're going to change Washington. And I think that's what we're seeing.

- John Cornyn

But last year there were 540,000 people, roughly, detained coming across the border illegally. Forty-five thousand of them came from countries other than Mexico, demonstrating the fact that Mexico itself now is a pathway into the United States for people all around the world, and we don't know what their intentions are.

- John Cornyn

I don't really think it's appropriate for me to be picking and choosing in the primaries. It's pretty dumb politics for a Republican to choose between Republicans in a contested primary because obviously you're going to be offending some people.

- John Cornyn

Americans deserve an attorney general that will be honest with them, they deserve an attorney general who will uphold the basic standards of political independence and accountability.

- John Cornyn

The Supreme Court has never ruled that Congress can use the Commerce Clause to require individuals to engage in an activity they have chosen to avoid. Yet that is precisely what Obamacare does: It forces Americans without health insurance to purchase coverage. Such a requirement is unprecedented and unconstitutional.

- John Cornyn

If there is a nuclear tactic being used here, I submit it is the use of that obstruction where a willful minority blocks a bipartisan majority from voting on the President's judicial nominees.

- John Cornyn

Nobody else in the world can do what we can do. And nobody else is willing to do it for altruistic reasons. I mean, we don't go into places like Iraq to grab their oil or colonize their country. We go there to deliver, as George W. Bush said, the blessings of liberty.

- John Cornyn

By the Obama administration's reasoning, it would be constitutionally permissible to make Americans purchase nearly any product (broccoli, gym membership) that improved their health and thereby contributed to lower health-care costs.

- John Cornyn

In my experience, endorsements by public officials, they don't count for anything.

- John Cornyn

Senators will do what they think they need to do to represent their constituents.

- John Cornyn

If Obamacare is allowed to stand - and Congress is allowed to make the purchase of government-endorsed health insurance compulsory - there will be no meaningful limit on Washington's reach into the lives of the American people. That is certainly not what the Founders intended.

- John Cornyn

I think we ought to talk about what the American people want, and that is jobs and get the economy on track.

- John Cornyn

I just think the mood of the country is now that people don't necessarily want an elected official to tell them how they ought to cast their vote. Matter of fact, it's the opposite, and they want to express themselves, and they have a right to, and I'll respect their choice.

- John Cornyn

The enemy is not just terrorism. It is the threat posed specifically by Islamist terrorism, by Bin Ladin and others who draw on a long tradition of extreme intolerance within a minority strain of Islam that does not distinguish politics from religion, and distorts both.

- John Cornyn

Nothing makes the minority leader more mad than when his side is forced to play by its own rules.

- John Cornyn

And if you like 14.4 percent unemployment, if you like the fact that 70 percent of home mortgages in Nevada are underwater, then stay the course. Vote for Harry Reid.

- John Cornyn

People are tired of just yelling at the TV set. They actually are going to turn out and vote.

- John Cornyn

You can always find a reason to say no. It's the easiest vote. It's also not exactly a red badge of courage.

- John Cornyn

I don't know what 'operational control' of the border means, but I do understand the English language. And as I understand that phrase, that's not true. We do not have operational control.

- John Cornyn

Raising taxes is the last thing we should do amid the weakest economic recovery since World War II. Unfortunately, even if we avoid the full 'Taxmageddon' scenario, President Obama's health care law also contains a new surtax on investment that will take effect in 2013.

- John Cornyn

Those who feel a little insecure about our border have some reason to feel that way.

- John Cornyn

I think that what people want is for government to function... not through temper tantrums and saying we are not going to participate, we are not going to play ball.

- John Cornyn

Think for a moment about what Obamacare has done: The federal government has come up with its own (ever-evolving) definition of 'health insurance,' which now includes free access to sterilization, contraception, and certain abortifacients such as the morning-after pill.

- John Cornyn

It doesn't hurt to show some empathy.

- John Cornyn

The enemy is not Islam, the great world faith, but a perversion of Islam.

- John Cornyn

Believe it or not, one of the things I try to do around here is try to look for opportunities to work with people across the aisle. I know that's not the common narrative. But the truth is if you want to get anything done, that's an absolute requirement.

- John Cornyn

A vast majority of Republicans are on the record saying that they believe the Violence Against Women Act should be reauthorized. Let me be clear: I believe that Violence Against Women Act must be reauthorized.

- John Cornyn

I think many people simply feel like they don't recognize their country anymore.

- John Cornyn

The Voting Rights Act was a seminal victory for our country and a great healing moment. But there are some who want to continue to drive divisions and create phony narratives.

- John Cornyn

My goal has always been to figure out how we can advance the conservative cause.

- John Cornyn

We need a straitjacket around Congress when it comes to spending so that they are forced to do what 49 states are required to do and what every family business and every family is required to do, and that's live within their means.

- John Cornyn