Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Feb. 11--Gov. Rick Perry Monday lit into Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for coming back home to Texas over the weekend and missing some votes on amendments to the huge stimulus bill that passed Tuesday.

"I think it's pretty hard to explain to Texans that you want to come to Texas and do another job when you can't even do the one that we've hired you to do," Perry told a group of North Texas business and political leaders, according to the Dallas Morning News.

But Perry was silent about the fact that Sen. John Cornyn missed Monday's very close cloture vote that determined whether Republicans had the strength to kill the bill.

Hutchison's spokesman says she honored a previous commitment to speak to the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. According to Politico.com, Cornyn was in New York City speaking to a group "of prominent media conservatives and Wall Street Republicans" that assemble under the name "the Monday Meeting."

Only senator absent

Cornyn was the only senator absent for the tense vote, though New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg abstained as President Barack Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary.

In fact, neither Hutchison's nor Cornyn's absence made any difference. Hutchison missed six votes on amendments and two procedural votes. One amendment passes unanimously. Only two were decided by fewer than 10 votes, and none by one vote.

As for Cornyn's absence, it was the same as a "no" vote. The reason is that for cloture the Democrats needed to amass 60 votes, no matter how many senators were present. That's why it was important that ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy was flown in from Florida to vote "aye" and meaningless that Cornyn was absent.

Perry's selective sniping

With the help of three Republicans, the Democrats prevailed by 61-56 tally on the cloture vote Monday. Tuesday both Texas senators were present and voting "no" on final passage. The result: The bill carried by 61-57.

Perry's selective sniping was predictable. Not only is Hutchison trying to unseat him as governor in 2010, but Cornyn is making it harder for her to do so.

Cornyn insists that he is neutral in the race between Perry and Hutchison, but he has had an impact nonetheless. As chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, his job is to try to keep Democrats from gaining even one seat in 2010. That could give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority, depending on a court fight over Minnesota's election last November.

It's going to be a tough job. Five incumbent Republicans have announced their retirement, four of them from states that were closely fought last November.

The last thing Cornyn wants is the embarrassment of a loss in his home state. That's why he publicly begged Hutchison not to resign her Senate seat until after the 2010 election. She had earlier considered resigning late this spring to campaign full-time.

But that could result in a free-for-all special election to replace her this November, which would especially benefit announced Democratic candidate Mayor Bill White. He would benefit running the same day as Houston's mayoral election, which would boost his numbers in a low-turnout statewide race.

Had she ignored Cornyn's plea, Hutchison would have come under considerable criticism -- especially from Perry -- for ignoring her party's needs. Now, instead, Perry can criticize her two ways: for coming home, and for staying in Washington and voting, as he did for her support (together with Cornyn's) for President George W. Bush's bank bailout bill.