House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stirred outrage Saturday by visiting Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar at his campaign headquarters in Laredo and voicing hope that the Koch-backed, anti-choice Democrat will ride to a “resounding victory” over progressive primary challenger Jessica Cisneros on March 3.
“We want this to be not only a victory, but a resounding victory for Henry Cuellar,” Pelosi told dozens of Cuellar campaign workers and supporters. “Every step you take, every door you knock, every call you make, will make that resounding victory possible—and it includes getting out a big Democratic vote prepared to vote again in the general election so that we turn Texas blue.”
“We assume that Henry will win, but we don’t take anything for granted,” Pelosi added. “The word ‘assume’—ass of you and me. Assume nothing.” Ahead of her visit to Cuellar’s campaign office, Pelosi headlined a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has also thrown its weight behind Cuellar in Texas’ 28th congressional district.
Justice Democrats, which is supporting Cisneros, sent an email to supporters late Saturday blasting Pelosi’s support for Cuellar as “utterly shameful.”
“Nancy Pelosi is backing a ‘Democrat’ who votes with Trump nearly 70% of the time, has an ‘A’ rating from the NRA, is anti-choice, and has received tens of thousands of dollars from the Kochs,” the group wrote.
Instead of lifting up progressive women like @JCisnerosTX, Pelosi is stumping for a "Democrat" who is anti-choice; voted with Trump 70% of the time; received $ from the NRA and the Kochs; and is a top recipient of $ from the private prison and fossil fuel lobby. Unbelievable. https://t.co/m8uVf30UYY
— Waleed Shahid 🪬 (@_waleedshahid) February 22, 2020
Cuellar is the first-ever congressional Democrat to receive reelection support from Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC funded by billionaire Charles Koch.
As HuffPost reported, Cuellar’s reelection bid is also backed by “large national and Texas corporations and business associations, including the American Bankers Association, Texas Bankers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Laredo Chamber of Commerce.”
By contrast, Cisneros—a 26-year-old immigration and human rights attorney—is running a union-backed campaign fueled by grassroots donors and supported by progressive members of Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
We’re running a grassroots, people-powered campaign.
We’re not taking a dime from corporate PACs or lobbyists.
We’re not endorsed by the Koch brothers.
We’re not receiving outside help from Republican special interests.
We’re going to win March 3. 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/r8dY2vqjpf
— Jessica Cisneros (@JCisnerosTX) February 22, 2020
Referring to Cuellar and other right-wing Democrats like him, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Saturday that “there are [Democratic] reps in SAFE blue seats who side with the NRA, are anti-LGBT+, and yet are protected because they advance the interests of big donors, Wall St., fossil fuels, etc.”
“It’s not ‘wrong’ to take that on and do better,” the New York Democrat wrote. “This isn’t about swing seats or pushing communities ‘too far left.’ It’s about accountability. Working families deserve so much better. And if we aren’t willing to admit where we can do better, then what is the point? Our job is to serve the people, not the powerful.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.