CD 23: The Redemption Of Henry Cuellar

For those of us who have followed the Rodriguez/Cuellar grudge match from the days of the 2004 primary election cycle, this is very, very welcome news:

Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) has endorsed former Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-San Antonio) in his runoff race against Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-San Antonio).

Given that Rodriguez has run two consecutive primary campaigns against Cuellar (the latter of which was spurred on by the Blogsphere and became utterly surreal at some points), and that Cuellar has been tilting ever rightward, this is on the verge of heartwarming.

At the very least, it is the redemption of Henry Cuellar.

Did Cuellar need redemption?

In the eyes of many, he did.

Most believed he never should have challenged Ciro Rodriguez in the first place (Cuellar himself was looking for redemption after losing to Bonilla in 2002). Many were displeased that he served as secretary of state for a Republican governor.The Bush/Cuellar “State of the Union Hug,”  and endorsement by Grover Norquist’s group in the last primary—not to mention a few Congressional votes where he sided with R’s—had the blood of many Democrats boiling.

Cuellar wasn’t alone in his endorsement (he joined 11 Texas House Democrats), but it is an important one, nonetheless.

Given that some of the district includes counties former represented by Cuellar, Cuellar can be a valuable ally.

The endorsement is also something that will help shore up Cuellar’s bona fides with Democrats. After all, he could have just as easily not lent his signature to this letter.

Most of all, though, this will redeem Cuellar in the eyes of many Democrats mad at him for defeating Ciro (not once but twice) and for some of his more conservative votes.

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