Run, Kay, Run!

Kay Bailey Hutchison has apparently failed to move up to more of a leadership position in the reshuffling following Trent Lott's stepping-down. This isn't a surprise - she isn't a strong conservative, and I don't really want her any higher in the pecking order than she is.

Except...for this little nugget down in the article:

For now, her decision stymies the ambitions of fellow Texas Sen. John Cornyn to move up a notch, from vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the No. 5 post.

"I wouldn't say blocked. I'd say deferred," Mr. Cornyn said.

Huh?

Cornyn is someone who has done nothing but impress me since going to Washington - much more than he ever did in Austin. His work on the Senate Judicial Committee has been exemplary, especially once the Democrats took over. It probably shouldn't surprise me, given the other wackiness and clique-iness (invented a new word have I) firmly in place in Washington, but I didn't realize that Hutchison was blocking Cornyn from a more senior leadership post just because she was the "senior senator".

Man, that rule must have really chapped Hillary's leathery hide - until she found another, more senior post to go after that didn't have Chucky-boy sitting in the way.

So, now I'm an even bigger supporter of Kay's upcoming gubernatorial run. I still don't want her to actually win it (although it is a relatively harmless place for her to sit), but it would get her out of Cornyn's way, and also allow Texas to send a real conservative in her place.