Heard the One About a Centrist Congressman? Carlos Curbelo on Polarization in the House

The Purple Principle

What’s it like to represent one of the very few remaining swing districts on the U.S. Congressional map, and be virtually the only Republican member at that time to publicly address climate change?

Former Congressman Carlos Curbelo from Florida’s 26th district (including southwest Miami and the Florida Keys) fields these questions in a season-ending Purple Principle episode entitled, Heard the One About a Centrist Congressman?

Curbelo also recounts some telling anecdotes from his time in the U.S. House, such as his application to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (traditionally bipartisan but now controlled by Democrats), which was ultimately rejected.

“Polarization in the House” is the subtitle and subtext of this episode, which also includes intel on the polarization of music choices in the House members' gym. There’s also a more serious discussion of the populist drift of his Republican Party. “I told people that I was not gonna let Donald Trump define this party, or kick me out of it,” says Curbelo, now a political analyst for NBC and Visiting Fellow at the University of Chicago.

This episode also marks Jillian Youngblood’s last co-hosting stint for the foreseeable future as she turns full attention to an innovative new round of Civic Genius engagement programs nationwide. Tune in to learn more about these efforts and get a refreshingly non-partisan perspective on the U.S. House from former Congressman Carlos Curbelo.

Original music by Ryan Adair Rooney

SHOW NOTES

Our Guest

The Hon. Carlos Curbelo: Twitter page, Unite America, University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute

Check out Carlos as a regular contributor to Telemundo, NBC News, MSNBC and NBC 6

Additional Resources

• Rep. Carlos Curbelo - House of Representatives
• 2021 Partisan Voter Index Scores by Congressional District (Cook Political Report)
• The GOP Just Lost Its Most Important Climate Moderates (The Atlantic)
• Ryan and McCarthy split on Dreamers (Politico)
• The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Conference (U.S. House of Representatives)
• Curbelo hands in formal request to join Congressional Hispanic Caucus (Miami Herald)
• Curbelo calls rejection from Hispanic Caucus "shameful" (USA Today)
• Rep. Xavier Becerra - House of Representatives
• Ex-GOP Rep. Curbelo to testify at climate change hearing (The Hill)
• House panel yanks Curbelo invite amid furor from top Democrats (Politico)
• Republican introduces bill calling for carbon tax (Reuters)
• Florida Amendment 3 Election Results: Establish Top-Two Open Primary System (New York Times)
• Read Trump's Jan. 6 Speech, A Key Part Of Impeachment Trial (NPR)
• Congressional Democrats fear losing majority in midterms (NPR)
• Rep. John Katko to retire from Congress, ending bid for 5th term (Syracuse.com)

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