Two Spoiler Democrats Protected By Their Party— And AIPAC?
The last time New Jersey voters elected a non-incumbent Republican was in 1954 when they backed liberal Clifford Case. One of the first Republicans to attack fascist Joe McCarthy, Case was far more liberal than most of his Democratic colleagues! He was a co-sponsor of Ted Kennedy’s bill that was far to the left of what became Medicare. And New Jersey voters reelected him 4 times. They would have reelected him a fifth time but the far right of teh GOP was able to deny him renomination… and New Jersey voters never elected a Republican to the Senate again. This time there are 4 no-name Republican candidates seeking their party’s nomination for the Robert Menendez seat.
The Republican nomination is largely worthless, just a vanity trophy. This cycle it’s been nearly a foregone conclusion that Congressman Andy Kim— having driven the corrupt Democratic Machine’s candidate out of the race— would be New Jersey next senator. Menendez, in the middle of a corruption— it should be treason— trial that is very likely to result in a very long prison term, just announced that he’s running as an independent… a potential spoiler. That’s how he repays Schumer, who prevented him from being expelled!
On Friday evening, David Wildstein reported that Menendez is personally circulating nomination petitions for the June 4 filing deadline. He only needs 800 valid signatures. Wildstein pointed out though “By filing, he would preserve the option of attempting to keep his seat— or possibly enhance his bargaining position if a three-way race suddenly puts the New Jersey Senate seat in play in November. His trial is expected to last at least through the end of June. The deadline for independent candidates to withdraw from the race without appearing on the ballot is August 16, giving him plenty of time to make a final decision.” Being a candidate also allows him to keep raising money from corrupt sources like AIPAC which he can use to pay his mounting legal expenses. Wildstein: “A report filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday shows his fundraising has come to a halt and his bank balance stands at less than $3.6 million. He paid $2 million to the law firm defending him, Paul Hastings, and almost $65,000 to Haystack ID, a computer forensic and electronic discovery firm.”
In fact, Menendez’s single biggest (legal) source of support this cycle comes from the disgraceful pro-genocide coalition AIPAC has built— $1,264,410, a tenth of all the money he’s raised so far. The Republican candidates haven’t raised any serious money, although Cape May hotel entrepreneur Curtis Bashaw, Trump-backed Mendham MAGA-Mayor Christine Glassner and Brazilian Shirley Maia-Cusick are self-funding their bids to buy the nomination with, respectively, $808,089, $300,000 and $279,922 of their own money. (Maia-Cusick has already dropped out of the Senate race and jumped into the race for the seat Andy Kim is giving up— NJ-03— where she is competing against 5 Democrats and 3 other Republicans.)
The trial, which is going very badly for Menendez, went on break Friday until May 28. It’s ironic that Menendez began his career in politics as a sincere reformer but, Ince elected, very quickly succumbed to the allure of free-flowing corruption. In a body that is notoriously corrupt, Menendez has long stood out as one of the worst of the worst and missed a prison sentence on a technicality the last time he was caught taking bribes.
And speaking of scumbag politicians facing prison sentences for taking bribes… Henry Cuellar’s trial hasn’t begun yet and the Democrats— instead of expelling him— are about to give up his south Texas seat to a Republican, because Hakeem Jeffries is an inept leader. On Friday, the editors of San Antonio Express-News noted that Cuellar, despite being squeezed by is a mountain of scandalous allegations, “is adamant that he has no plans to resign. The Democrat from Laredo was indicted three weeks ago on federal bribery and money laundering charges that stem from allegations he took nearly $600,000 from an Azerbaijan oil-and-gas company and a Mexican bank, and funneled the funds into shell companies… He unconvincingly acts as if everything in his world is normal. He has insisted he is innocent, and he has vowed to stay in office and remain the Democratic nominee for U.S. District 28, which stretches from San Antonio to Laredo, in this year’s general election.”
[T]he honorable, responsible course would be to step down. The distraction alone that his legal problems will pose threatens to weaken his office and his party. Whatever the outcome of his case, he has fallen short of a moral standard and eroded confidence in our systems.
If Cuellar did resign, just what would that process entail for voters in District 28?
A Cuellar resignation this year would be more complicated than those of Wright or Gramm because it would occur during a congressional election cycle. If, for example, Cuellar stepped down sometime in the next few weeks, that would prompt Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special election, which would overlap with the general election campaign for the same congressional seat.
Also, it’s questionable whether state law would allow the Texas Democratic Party to replace Cuellar on the November ballot.
…This is the quandary that Cuellar, in act of pure selfishness, has forced upon his district and political party.
If he stays in the race, his district’s voters will be forced to choose between an indicted Democratic incumbent accused of abusing his office and a little-known Republican challenger who will be selected in Tuesday's primary runoff.
If he drops out and resigns, he’ll force overlapping special election and general election races, and possibly leave his party with no candidate in November.
Cuellar could have resigned when FBI agents raided his Laredo home and campaign office in January 2022. He knew what they were investigating and the legal implications, but he clung to his congressional seat like a life raft.
On the one-year anniversary of the raid, he lied to a Laredo television reporter, saying, “I’m not the target of the investigation. At the end of the day, there will be no wrongdoings on that and right now I’m just concentrating on my work.”
For now, Cuellar has time and favor on his side. His trial won’t begin until March. It’s unlikely any developments between now and then would force his hand. And the Democratic Party has kept very quiet.
In the coming months, he’ll be concentrating on his criminal defense while the voters of his district will be forced to deal with the fallout.
He and his family virtually run Webb County, the second biggest source of votes (after Bexar) among the district’s 9 counties. It’s his lopsided victories in Webb and Starr counties that have kept him in office in a swing district that has been trending redder. Casey Murray and Byron Tau reported on Friday that he and his family are notorious for self-dealing and political influence peddling. His sister “Rosie Cuellar was appointed to a judgeship for which she heard no cases, in a town with no courthouse. Under [his brother] Martin Cuellar’s leadership, the Webb County sheriff’s office has drawn the scrutiny of the FBI. Prosecutors are probing a cleaning company owned by a man who was at the time assistant chief in the sheriff’s office and have asked for documents about Martin Cuellar as part of that investigation. In addition, sources told NOTUS that Martin Cuellar and his allies pressured staff to promote his and his family’s political careers... From his perch on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Henry Cuellar helped deliver millions in federal money to the region. And his siblings controlled the levers of local power: Martin Cuellar has served as the sheriff in Webb County since 2008, while Rosie Cuellar has held positions in local government as a judge and tax assessor and is hoping to be elected to the statehouse in the fall.”
The Cuellars are still well-liked by many in Webb County. Residents described two very different versions of the family. In one, the Cuellars are revered for the money and investment they’ve brought to the area and rightfully lauded for serving the community. In the other view, the family is corrupt and has used its influence to enrich itself at the expense of the constituency.
All three Cuellars’ popularity will be tested at the polls. Martin Cuellar is in a competitive runoff for his seat against former employee Wayo Ruiz, and Rosie Cuellar is in a competitive runoff for the Democratic nomination for a state Legislature seat. Both elections will be held May 28, while Henry Cuellar will face a general election in November, though his Republican challengers (who are in a runoff) aren’t expected to topple him.
When the siblings’ campaigns align, they support one another. When Rosie Cuellar was elected to a Webb County position in 2018, Henry swore her in. One photo from December 2019 shows Martin and Rosie Cuellar together at a campaign launch event for the family. Attendants in the background hold signs for each sibling.
The trio has come a long way. Hernández sees the Cuellars as yet another family who started from the bottom and reached the top by stepping on others, reinforcing the same old political systems that disenfranchised the region for decades.
“This was a community controlled by the patrón system,” Hernández said. “The patrón still lives.”
This kind of behavior-- Cuellar's and Menendez's shouldn't be tolerated by the Democratic Party. Even if for no other reason, it tarnishes the party brand and makes Democrats look just as bad as Republicans, while turning off voters from electoral politics. This is the sack of shit the Democratic Party leadership has adamantly, even viciously, protected and supported:
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