Is this where I pretend to be surprised?
Glenn Thrush says the question from the Senate floor this evening was "where was Cornyn," as the Texas Republican was the only senator to miss the crucial cloture vote on the stimulus package.
The answer: He was at a New York gathering of prominent media conservatives and Wall Street Republican donors called the Monday Meeting, held at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Though not a fundraiser, the meeting is a hub of conservative money and buzz, a good place for Cornyn to tap into resources in his role as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The meetings are off-the-record, but a source there emails me that Cornyn -- who was billed as speaking about the 2010 senate races -- took some pokes at Democratic leaders, saying that "Nancy Pelosi drives the train" and describing Chuck Schumer as a "human vacuum cleaner."
If there's a crowd open to the argument that FDR's New Deal was a big mistake, this is the one.
Cornyn spoke at the end of the meeting and was, I'm told, received warmly.
By Ben Smith 08:15 PM
source
Meanwhile, Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy were both there in their wheelchairs.
If Big John is going to be a partisan obstructionist douchebag, he should at least put his money where his mouth is and show up to vote the way the other partisan obstructionist douchebags tell him to. Guess he's not a true believer in the Republican insurgency.