House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn traveled to San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday to appear on stage with one of the few pro-life Democrats left in the party’s caucus.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a pro-life Congressman, is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Jessica Cisneros, a Bernie Sanders acolyte, and asked his friend Clyburn to make some appearances with him in his district’s largest city.
Clyburn is nothing if not an old-fashioned politician. He’s pro-choice but believes in a “big tent” Democratic Party that welcomes pro-life members too. That makes him anathema to radicals like AOC.
As Clyburn traveled to Texas on Wednesday morning, Cuellar’s progressive challenger, Jessica Cisneros, issued a statement calling on Democratic House leadership to rescind its support for Cuellar in light of the Roe v. Wade bombshell. But Clyburn was unswayed as he attended a series of events across the city with the Laredo congressman, stressing that he does not always agree with Cuellar but believes divergent views are healthy for democracy. In doing so, Clyburn sent a message that the Democratic Party should not shun abortion opponents.
“We have a big-tent party, and if we’re gonna be a big-tent party, we got to be a big-tent party,” Clyburn told reporters after an evening rally at an outdoor barbecue joint. “I don’t believe we ought to have a litmus test in the Democratic Party. I think we have to bring as many people into the party as we possibly can.”
Democrats have purged almost all pro-life members from their party. But there are still reps like Cuellar who are now in the crosshairs of the radical left for their pro-life stance.
Addressing a crowd of about 80 people from the stage of his campaign rally, Clyburn hailed Cuellar for his role as a chief deputy whip, saying together they have been “very effective in getting Joe Biden’s [agenda] across the finish line.” He joked that he does not always agree with Cuellar just like he did not always agree with his late wife of 58 years. But he said people do not “grow” if they speak only with those they agree with.
“We have to sit down with people with whom we do not agree and try to find common ground so that you do what is necessary to continue moving this country forward,” Clyburn said.
Cuellar has also split with Biden and his party on immigration and border security. His reasoning is simple; he’s an American before he’s a Democrat.
“I’m a Democrat — but I follow the words of [Lyndon B. Johnson], who said many years ago, ‘I’m an American, I’m a Texan and then I’m a Democrat — in that order,’” Cuellar said. “If you put the party first before your country, you’re doing a disservice. I think what we need to do … is make sure that we put our country, our district, first, and that’s what I do.”
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Clyburn is one of the most respected members of the House and has been known through the years for his collegiality with opposition members. But his words of compromise are falling on deaf ears. Democrats are in a mood to purge anyone who doesn’t accept their abortion stance.
And Cuellar may be one of the first Democratic casualties of that purge.
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