Dems fear Cuellar may switch to GOP

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.thehill.com/news/040704/cuellar.aspx

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) believe and openly speculate that Laredo lawyer Henry Cuellar may switch to the Republican side if his recount victory in the Democratic primary survives legal challenges by Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas).

The caucus’s worry stems, in part, from the political leanings of a bank president at the center of the recount controversy. The International Commerce Bank — where hundreds of absentee ballots were discovered that gave Cuellar victory — is run by Dennis Nixon, a well-known Republican fundraiser.

The Texas secretary of state certified Cuellar as the Democratic winner in the 28th District primary Monday, after the recount — including the additional 304 ballots in Zapata County and a further 115 in Laredo County — whittled away Rodriguez’s 145-vote election-night lead. At the final tally, Cuellar won by 203 votes.

Rodriguez, chairman of the CHC, has asked party leaders and his Hispanic colleagues to fund a $100,000 legal challenge to Cuellar.

[SaveElmer]

1. Texas...it's always Texas

:wtf:

[JusticeForAll]

9. ...when it's not Florida....

n/t

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. I he switches it just shows that he's and OPPORTUNIST....

in the business purely for power!

[LoneStarLiberal]

3. That's Also Tony Sanchez's Stronghold

ICB is also the bank that the amazingly underwhelming Tony Sanchez, Rick "the Dick" Perry's last opponent for Governor here in Texas, has had several notable shady incidents with in the past.

South Texas has a long history of shady dealings "down by the Border."

There's no telling what kind of crap is really going down. Anyone here from Laredo? What's the scoop with the Democratic machine in Laredo?

[Dover]

5. Dem calls the whole recount issue in Zapata and Webb counties "sketchy"

Saturday | April 03, 2004

TX: No re-recount in Webb County
Looks like the CD 28 Democratic primary has finally concluded, pending the inevitable lawsuit.



A request for a second recount of disputed Webb County ballots in the 28th Congressional District was rejected Friday by Texas Democratic Party officials, who said a courtroom, not a counting room, is the best place to resolve the clouded election.

"There is little doubt that something sketchy is going on in Zapata and Webb counties," said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting. "I feel strongly that there ought to be a recount. That recount should occur under the watchful eye of a judge, and any comments about how extra ballots appeared should be made under oath."

The decision was the latest development in a dramatic Democratic primary contest between incumbent U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and Laredo opponent Henry Cuellar.

Cuellar used the opportunity to restate his claim to victory, while Rodriguez continued preparations to challenge the results through a lawsuit that is expected to be filed next week.

"(Another recount) would have delayed the filing of our lawsuit, and we want to get that in as quickly as possible," said John Puder, a Rodriguez spokesman. "At this point, the people who are answering these questions about what happened (should) have to do it under oath in court."

In a statement released Friday, Cuellar said he was "honored that the voters of the 28th Congressional District have chosen me to carry the Democratic Party's banner this fall in the general election."

Pending potential legal action, the recount is considered an official record of the election, meaning that Cuellar is the winner at this point in the race, said Mike Lavigne, a spokesman from the Texas Democratic Party.

But the fight between the two former friends and Texas House colleagues in the 11-county district appeared far from over.

http://www.polstate.com/archives/005199.html#005199

[jobycom]

7. Sanchez's dad founded IBC

Dennis Nixon is a Republican, and Tony Sanchez's father founded the bank. Sanchez ran as the Democratic candidate for governor, and Nixon supported him. Sanchez also ran one of the weakest campaigns in Texas history.

Gets better. Sanchez was a major contributor to W's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Go back a decade. In the late 80s and early 90s, Sanchez's bank, then a savings and loan, was investigated for fraud and money laundering. It was eventually cleared of the laundering charge, and the government bailed it out of its financial trouble and cleared it of fraud. President at the time? George HW Bush.

So why does a Democrat give money to a Republican governor and president, then run as a Democratic candidate for governor, then run a weak campaign that wipes out the whole Democratic state slate of candidates? Theories, anyone? For the record, I watched Sanchez a bit, and I believe he wanted to be governor, but not that he wanted to be a Democrat.

A lot of votes pop up in that region during recounts to give elections to the best connected candidates. LBJ won his first senate run from near that region, when a mysterious ballot box was suddenly found uncounted, full of LBJ votes. Later research demonstrated that the voters in that box had registered to vote alphabetically.

[LoneStarLiberal]

8. Sanchez Was A Real Gem...

From my understanding there's a similar Democratic machine in Corpus Christi as there is in Laredo.

Yep, Sanchez was a real winner. I've never been less proud of a Democratic candidate for anything in my lifetime...that I was aware of, mind you.

Hopefully we won't be hearing any rumblings from him about repeating that gubenatorial electoral disaster.

[leesa]

4. If he's foolish enough to switch to a sinking party then I say he should

go for it! He and Zell Miller can laugh and talk about how it almost was as they yearn for their fascist fantasy land.

[mobuto]

10. Democrats for Bush

AP--In just two weeks, Democrats for Bush has doubled its membership, the Crawford, Texas based organization revealed Wednesday.

"We've just been stunned by the reaction we've gotten from the public," the organization's President, Chairman, and Secretary Treasurer, Zell Miller (R-GA) said in a statement.

Henry Cuellar, (R-TX) Executive Vice President, chauffeur, Director of Media Relations, and Official Minority Token, concurred. "In doubling our membership in only two weeks, we're sending a message to the American people that some Democrats are in fact, idiots. But not us, of course."

Also Wednesday, the Associated Press obtained a membership list for Democrats for Bush which seemed to confirm the organization's claim. In two weeks, membership spiked from one to two members, after Cuellar joined the organization.

Democratic Party Chair Terry McAuliffe congratulated the renegade organization, adding that Senator Miller and Congressman Cuellar were two of the biggest members he knew.

[Ignis]

13. Nice parody.

Can we start a DU version of The Onion? :)

[amber dog democrat]

6. If so, good riddance

These things have a way of catching up with you.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. Texans: So this is a pretty clear case of election fraud?

[mobuto]

14. Coke Stevenson seems to think so

Election fraud? In South Texas? Say it ain't so, Joe.

[DavidFL]

12. Those ballots were "discovered"...riiiiiiiiiiiight.

eom