Rosie Cuellar’s Attack On Texas Democrats

Rosie Cuellar’s move jeopardizes the Texas House and Democratic agenda.

With only 19 days until what could be the most monumental election in history, the sister of the federally indicted Congressman Henry Cuellar and primary election loser Rosie Cuellar dropped an ad today attacking the Democrat in the closest election across the state. That’s right, we’re talking about Texas House District 80.

Democrats need to flip 12 seats to flip the Texas House. That isn’t a small order. On top of needing to flip 12 seats, we need not to lose any. HD80 is the only one at risk of being lost.

If Republicans have a wide majority again next legislative session, here is what’s on the table:

• Vouchers.

• Banning pregnant women from travel.

• IVF.

• Some forms of birth control.

• Banning all gender studies in Texas colleges.

• The climate.

• And so much more.

Yet, Rosie Cuellar put out an ad today encouraging the people of HD80 to vote for the Republican option, Don McLaughlin, who signed the Contract on Texas, vowing to remove political power from people of color in Texas.

Not only would electing Don McLaughlin harm the people of HD80, but it would also harm people all over Texas.

It isn’t about the HD80 Democratic candidate Cecilia Castellano. It’s about:

• Having a child taken from the home if they are gay.

• Whether a pregnancy will take your life.

• Facing charges if you leave the state to access abortion care.

• Living under “stand your ground laws” and unjustified violence against people of color.

• Fighting over banned books at your child’s school.

• Environmental roll-back leading to polluting your neighborhood.

Why would Rosie Cuellar attempt to sabotage this race so close to an election?

Let’s take a look at the ad:

1. Cuellar claims that Castellano lied about her judge and tax assessor record.

2. Cuellar claims that Castellano is under investigation (she’s referring to Ken Paxton’s bogus investigation that had dozens of local officials asking for DOJ intervention).

3. At the end, it said, “The campaign is paid for by the McLaughlin Campaign.”

Did Castellano lie?

From NOTUS: “NOTUS found that Rosie Cuellar was appointed to a judgeship for which she heard no cases in a town with no courthouse.”

From Texas Public Radio: “We discovered that Rosie was taken on by the city as a municipal judge, but she never heard any cases that they don’t have a functioning court. They didn’t when she started. And they still don’t to this day.”

From San Antonio Current: How Henry Cuellar and his family control Webb County, Texas.

Unless Cecilia Castellano said, “Rosie is a good judge,” everything she said was probably true. I don’t know what Castellano said, but multiple media outlets have uncovered that Rosie Cuellar’s judgeship is some kind of front.

Every Democrat in Texas knows that Ken Paxton’s election interference in South Texas is a rouse to trick people into not voting or voting for the Republican candidate.

Ken Paxton endorsed Don McLaughlin. Don McLaughlin is behind this ad.

This whole thing stinks to high heaven.

My thoughts from North Texas.

I try to tread lightly when discussing the politics of South Texas because it’s a different environment than the rest of Texas. But I always ask questions when I speak to activists and political people from that area.

• Why is voter turnout so low near the border?

• Why is there a perceived level of Democratic corruption in the RGV?

No matter the answer, they all tell me about certain families that control everything down there, contributing to these narratives. And the Cuellar Family is always a name that comes up.

We all know that Congressman Henry Cuellar has a history of voting with Republicans and that he’s currently under federal indictment for bribery, money laundering, and acting as a foreign agent.

Why did she do the ad?

The Cuellar family is extremely wealthy, so it isn’t about the money. The “election interference charges” Cuellar mentioned are a dog and pony show by Ken Paxton and will likely end with the charges dropped.

Did Rosie Cuellar do this ad because she’s sour grapes over the primary election?

Democrats in Texas know how precious our House seats are. We can’t afford to lose one. HD80 is already at risk, based on the Republican swing there.

How selfish would it be for a so-called Democrat to sink the entire state because they have their feelings hurt over a primary election?

There is no way a Democrat would try and hand an election to a Republican knowing that Republicans want to take LGBTQ children out of their homes.

There is no way a Democrat would try and hand an election to a Republican knowing that Republicans are calling for mass deportation, which is an ethnic cleansing.

There is no way a Democrat would try and hand an election to a Republican knowing that Republicans plan to ban IVF and some forms of birth control in Texas.

There’s no way. Right?

Rosie Cuellar’s decision to publicly endorse a Republican in such a high-stakes race raises serious questions about her commitment to Democratic values.

The time for inner-party mud-slinging is during primary elections, not 19 days before a general election.

Her actions, driven by personal vendettas or misguided political maneuvers, could have devastating consequences not only for HD80 but for the entire state of Texas. At a time when the stakes couldn’t be higher—where fundamental rights and the future of our state hang in the balance—it’s crucial that we stand united. Personal grievances should never outweigh the collective fight for justice, equality, and the protection of all Texans.

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Vote early, vote often, just vote.

• October 21: First day to early vote.

• October 25: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.

• November 1: Last day to early vote.

• November 5: Election day!

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