Is Henry Cuellar The Worst Democrat In Congress?

Often Democratic acquaintances of mine makes excuses for Blue Dogs and New Dems-- the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- and their horrible voting records vy saying, "but look how red is district is." And sure enough, the 8 most prohibitively Republican districts held by Democrats are all held by Blue Dogs and New Dems with horrible anti-progressive voting records:

• UT-04- Jim Matheson (PVI- R+16)
• NC-07- Mike McIntyre (PVI- R+12)
• GA-12- John Barrow (PVI- R+9)
• MN-07- Collin Peterson (PVI- R+6)
• AZ-01- Ann Kirkpatrick (PVI- R+4)
• AZ-02- Ron Barber (PVI- R+3)
• TX-23- Pete Gallego (PVI- R+3)
• FL-18- Patrick Murphy (PVI- R+3)

Romney won every one of those districts. But one of the most despicable Blue Dogs of all-- some in Congress say the most despicable-- doesn't fit into that group. Henry Cuellar, long known as George W. Bush's favorite Democrat, represents a very blue district, TX-28, with a D+7 PVI. Republicans aren't competitive there. In 2008 Obama beat McCain 92,557 (58%) to 65,066 (41%) and 4 years later, Obama increased his lead significantly to beat Romney 101,843 (60%) to 65,372 (39%). The district is 78.4% Hispanic and the only big city is Laredo, although he has a chunk of Bexar County with a piece of San Antonio (Northeast side). Huge drug and human trafficking center along the border and Texas insiders say they all give money to Cuellar. Nice neighborhood.

An anti-Choice, anti-gay reactionary and corporate whore, Cuellar has one of the worst records of any Democrat in Congress and the worst when you take the partisan lean of the district into account. According to ProgressivePunch his lifetime crucial vote score is 40.96. Of the 7 Democrats with more Republican voting records than Cuellar, all come from Republican-Leaning districts. He was the co-founder and co-chairman, with Buck McKeon of the infamous House Drone Caucus, which pays him off with gigantic legalistic bribes every two years. He's always one of the handful of Democrats backed by Republican organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Club for Growth, and the NRA.

Early in 2010, Molly Hooper, writing for a DC trade paper called The Hill, made the point that Cuellar, who had been appointed Texas Secretary of State by Rick Perry, had succeeded in mending fences with the Democrats. "Shunned by Democratic colleagues years ago, Cuellar has worked to build relationships in the House and is no longer considered an outsider in his own caucus… Times have changed. Cuellar...has been a team player at crucial times this Congress. Days before the House climate change vote, Cuellar was telling a colleague he was going to vote no when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tapped him on the shoulder. 'Henry,' Pelosi said, 'can I talk to you about your vote?' President Barack Obama also lobbied Cuellar, who subsequently voted for the bill. Under pressure from the White House, the 54-year-old lawmaker also backed the healthcare bill after securing provisions on medical malpractice… Cuellar...still votes against his party. He rejected the first House bailout bill, which was voted down, but backed the final version that passed in the fall of 2008. Cuellar was also one of 27 Democrats who opposed the House financial regulatory reform bill, a top priority for Obama. Cuellar consistently works with members on both sides of the aisle, a rarity for House members. In fact, he says his best friend in the lower chamber is a Republican: Rep. Michael McCaul."

Yesterday, another Beltway trade publication, Politico, indicates Cuellar is back in the dog house. "For many Democrats in Congress," wrote Seung Min Kim, "Henry Cuellar is persona non grata" who "sounds more like a Republican in his relentless criticism of President Barack Obama’s handling of the border crisis. He joined forces with a top Senate Republican on legislation that would make it easier to deport child migrants. And he was the lone Democrat to back the House GOP’s $694 million emergency border funding bill.

The maneuvering infuriated Democrats, who privately fumed that Cuellar gave bipartisan veneer to a deportation plan the party overwhelmingly abhors. The frustration is especially deep among members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who suddenly had to fend off one of their own-- in addition to hard-line Republicans.

Rep. Rubén Hinojosa not only denounced Cuellar’s deportation measure-- but suggested he’s not really part of the Hispanic Caucus.

“Henry Cuellar does not represent the Congressional Hispanic Caucus,” Hinojosa, who leads the CHC, said when pressed on Cuellar’s proposal. “He’s a Blue Dog, he comes to the meetings once in a long time … But make it clear. Cuellar does not speak for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.”

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) slammed the proposal as a “deportation-only agenda dressed up in sheep’s clothing.”