Burnt Orange Report

Club for Growth, Club for Cuellar

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

So here are the facts.

Rep. Cuellar is an incumbent "Democratic" Congressman "representing" the 28th District of Texas. In 2004, he ousted then incumbent Democrat Ciro Rodriguez, who underestimated his opponent and lost. Rodriguez is back, challenging Rep. Cuellar in the March primary, the winner of which faces no opponent other than a Libertarian this November. Victor Morales is also running in the primary...the same Victor Morales who stated "I wouldn't run as a Democrat again" in 2002, after losing the Senate bid to Ron Kirk, and has a non-working website.

The Club for Growth up until now has only endorsed Republicans. And the first Democrat that the Club for Growth endorsed? Rep. Henry Cuellar.

The Club for Growth supports...

* Taxpayer Funding of Private Schools
* Opposition to Raising the Minimum Wage
* Eliminating Estate Taxes on Millionaires
* Passage of CAFTA

Democrat Henry Cuellar...

* Supported Vouchers in the Texas House
* Endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000
* Was Rick Perry's 1st Sec. of State appointment
(before Geoff Conner was on Perry's Scene)
* Voted for CAFTA
* Supported Republican Tax Packages and Immigration Reform

Now, to give credit, Cuellar did have this to say in reaction...

Cuellar's campaign said that the Club for Growth never contacted them before issuing the endorsement, and that the endorsement came "out of left field." Cuellar issued a statement: "I find that with any endorsement you get half of their friends and all of their enemies. The only endorsement that I am looking for is the endorsement of the voters in this district, and I am working hard everyday to earn it."

Yes, such a strong repudiation of the Club for Growth endorsement. Though that silence I can almost hear the sound of Republican money flowing into his campaign coffers.

Some anaylsis that has passed my way...

San Antonio Turnout Promises to be High, Favoring a Ciro victory.

The controversial recount that gave the race to his opponent in 2004 was decided by a mere 58 votes. In Bexar County alone, 84% of the votes casts were for Ciro. This year, hotly contested primaries in the county for State Senate and State Representative will significantly increase voter turnout in Ciro’s favor. With San Antonio representing roughly 30% of the vote, this year’s increased turnout in San Antonio will send Ciro back to Congress.

Henry Cuellar is faces Opposition at Home in Laredo…

The conservative city of Laredo delivered the election for Cuellar. Yet just 2 years later, several Laredo elected officials, including State Senator Judith Zaffirini, publicly opposed the re-election of Henry Cuellar and supported former primary candidate, State Representative Richard Raymond instead. While Raymond chose to opt-out of the race just days before the filing deadline, the wounds of political division in Laredo are both fresh and deep. Cuellar cannot count on his own home county to carry the district for him again, which is no surprise, since Cuellar neither lives nor works in the Congressional District he represents.