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On the Border
Last week, I came across this fascinating article at Fox News Latino about Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat representing the 28th congressional district of Texas. It seems the Congressional Democratic leadership doesn’t care much for Dr. Cuellar these days:
Cuellar, who could not be reached for comment for this story, took aim at Obama when the president visited Texas recently and did not go to the border, despite many appeals by Texas lawmakers – mainly Republicans — for him to do so.
“He’ll be 500 miles from Dallas and, in fact, he’ll be 242 miles from Austin, Texas, at the other fundraising he’ll be having,” Cuellar told MSNBC. “I hate to use the word ‘bizarre,’ but under the circumstances – when he is shown playing pool in Colorado, drinking a beer, and he can’t even go 242 miles to the Texas border?”
“He either can roll up his sleeves and go down to the border, or he can just look aloof and detached and not go to the border,” he said.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which Cuellar is a member and which includes only Democrats, held a news conference to distance themselves from the five-term lawmaker.
Not surprising, as Cuellar exhibits a rare trait among South Texas Democrats (and Democrats generally): the ability to think for himself. Lest you think my characterization uncharitable, I assure you it is not. Like me, Cuellar is a native of Laredo, Texas. And politically speaking — although he’s a Democrat — Cuellar is an outlier in that community.
Politically, Laredo is a place where 1932 never ended. Most people there reflexively vote Democrat and when pressed as to why, give you the shopworn mantra that Democrats are for the poor and Republicans are for the rich. You may think that after 80 years of doing so — and with so many Laredoans remaining mired in poverty — they might reconsider that approach. But they never have and never will. Thus, the town remains stuck in a never-ending Groundhog Day, without Bill Murray’s witty repartee.
I admire and commend Cuellar for speaking out on the issue of border security, especially when so many in his party care about little other than extracting more and more money from already-burdened taxpayers to buy votes from the less fortunate and able of our society. His labor, however, remains as that of Sisyphus, and will bear a similar result.
Published in General
I heard about Rep. Cuellar’s co-authorship of the Helping Unaccompanied Minors and Alleviating National Emergency (HUMANE) Act with Sen. John Cornyn while listening to Mark Davis’ podcast from Dallas. At the time, I remember thinking “oh, Cuellar’s out of the cool kids’ club for sure this time”, and your story confirms my impression.
It probably matters that Rep. Cuellar’s district includes a large section of the Mexican border – his constituents have more to lose from unlimited immigration than the constituents of his fellow Democrats.
Texas Democrats are different. :)
Oops, I just realized that I misidentified Cuellar’s district as the 23rd in my original post. It is, rather, the 28th as your link shows. I have corrected the error.
That’s a consequence of my having moved away from Laredo 21 years ago, when it was in the 23rd district.
Yep, if Laredo weren’t still 1932-never-ended land, Cuellar might have switched parties long ago. There are still some Blue Dog Dems left, but the breed is rapidly becoming extinct.
Could be that Laredo is smack dab in the middle of an actual time warp and Cuellar is a bon fide time traveller. That would explain it.
If he drives a DeLorean, then we’ll know for sure!
Nowadays all Democrats are Leftists. They tapdance on issues like coal if they’re from West Virginia, when they’re in their district. They break from the party when their vote isn’t needed, but at whip count time, they’ll scuttle back into the fold. They’ll throw their grandmother under the bus for an airport subsidy (q.v. Stupak, Bart).
Cuellar voted for Obamacare. He’s a reliable vote on the left. Maybe because his constituents ox is being gored in this one instance, he’s making a lot of noise. But it is sound and fury signifying nothing.
His voting record and interest group ratings suggest otherwise. Cuellar could easily be a moderate Republican.