Thread: Who are the Odd Eight in the House That Crossed Party Lines on the Wall?

Who are the Odd Eight in the House That Crossed Party Lines on the Wall?



By David North on December 21, 2018



Who are the eight members of the House who left GOP ranks to vote against the wall on Thursday?


The spending bill passed with all the Democrats in opposition and some 217 Republicans voting for it. It contained a provision calling for $5.7 billion for the wall. It is unlikely to get through the Senate without changes.


The eight includes four who are not coming back next month, four with lots of Hispanic voters in their districts, and some in both categories.


The most interesting no vote came from Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), a moderate who just barely got re-elected last month. His district, with many Hispanics in it, is on the border stretching east from the outskirts of El Paso along hundreds of miles of the Rio Grande. The wall probably would have created a major chunk of economic activity in some poverty-stricken areas along that river, but he voted against it.


The three others who are returning next year who voted with Hurd are the Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a strict fiscal conservative; Ken Buck (R-Colo.), a Freedom Caucus member along with Amash; and the moderate Fred Upton (R-Mich.).


The four who are leaving Congress are Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), and David Valadao (R-Calif.).


The ones whose districts have with large Hispanic populations are Curbelo, Hurd, Ros-Lehtinen, and Valadao.


Curbelo, Paulsen and Valadao all lost their bids for re-election; Ros-Lehtinen did not run again, and will be replaced by Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), a rare former federal cabinet member serving in the House. She was Bill Clinton's Secretary of Health and Human Services, and will be a predictable open-borders vote.


https://cis.org/North/Who-are-Odd-Ei...rty-Lines-Wall