Results 1 to 3 of 3
Thread: Parties court Latinos at event
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
-
06-24-2006, 01:52 PM #1
Parties court Latinos at event
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/14884995.htm
Posted on Fri, Jun. 23, 2006
Parties court Latinos at event
By JOHN KIRSCH
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
DALLAS -- The chairmen of the national Republican and Democratic parties tried to win support from Hispanic leaders Thursday by staking out their positions on immigration and portraying their parties as eager to win support from Latinos.
In separate speeches to 450 people at the Fairmont Hotel, Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean acknowledged Latinos' growing political power during the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials convention.
About 1,000 members of the organization are holding their first conference in Dallas, said spokeswoman Olga Quinones. The delegates represent more than 5,000 Latinos who hold office in 43 states, according to a news release the group issued.
Mehlman said Republicans are trying to help Latinos by overhauling immigration laws and improving public schools. President Bush has proposed a guest-worker program as part of his immigration plan.
"A Republican Party that does not reach out to the Hispanic community cannot win elections in the future. And a Republican Party that does not reach out to the Hispanic community does not deserve to win elections," Mehlman said to applause.
Dean said the immigration bill passed by the U.S. House demonstrates that Republicans are exploiting the volatile immigration issue to keep control of Congress. The bill calls for building a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border, among other changes.
Dean sharply criticized the Republican-controlled House for not moving forward on renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The act requires Texas and eight other states to obtain federal permission before changing voting procedures and contains rules on bilingual ballots. On Wednesday, the House put off plans to vote on renewing the act, partly because of concerns raised by Texas Republicans.
"How can you come before a group of people and ask for their votes when you don't want them to vote?" Dean said to applause.
In a separate speech Thursday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said comprehensive immigration changes will require finding a middle ground between deporting the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and granting amnesty.
That common ground would include proposals backed by President Bush's to allow work permits, Gutierrez said.
Both parties are seeking support from Latinos, the nation's fastest-growing and largest minority group, according to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center. At the end of 2004, an estimated 40.4 million Hispanics were living in the United States, the report states. But Latinos have had mixed success in translating those numbers into political power. Experts say language and distrust of politics are major reasons.
The political stakes were underscored in Dean's news conference later, where he was flanked by 15 Hispanic officials.
In an interview after the speeches, Sergio De Leon, Tarrant County Precinct 5 constable, said Dean's appearance and speech sent a strong signal that the Democratic Party values Hispanic support. That's important because Hispanics have sometimes felt taken for granted by Democrats, said De Leon, a Democrat.
John Bueno, president of the Latino elected officials group, said Dean and Mehlman did a good job of outlining the differences between their parties. Bueno, a Republican, said Dean took a more hard-line approach in his speech.
State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who attended the conference Thursday, said holding the event in Dallas was a recognition of the growing political influence of Latinos in Dallas-Fort Worth. That was demonstrated by large demonstrations in the area on immigration this year, he said.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is scheduled to speak to the group today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kirsch, 817-685-3805 jkirsch@star-telegram.comSupport our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn
-
06-24-2006, 02:57 PM #2"A Republican Party that does not reach out to the Hispanic community cannot win elections in the future. And a Republican Party that does not reach out to the Hispanic community does not deserve to win elections," Mehlman said to applause.
These gutless, spineless politicians ought to think about who pays the taxes to keep this nation runing, who actually are legal to vote, and quit kissing the butts of these traitors just because they crank out millions of anchor babies a year. If only you had to be literate in order to vote, maybe this country wouldn't be going down the tubes.[b][i][size=117]"Leave like beaten rats. You old white people. It is your duty to die. Through love of having children, we are going to take over.â€
-
06-24-2006, 03:34 PM #3
IF you deduct from the equation those here illegally, and their anchor babies, the Latino population base is NOT the fastest growing minority group in America.
The LEGAL Hispanic population of our country responsibily bring children into the world. However, not sure (based on their birth rates) that the same can be said for those here illegally. When we look at 12-15 million illegal aliens in our country, that only tells a PART OF THE STORY. The other part of the story is the 3.8 million children born to ILLEGALS that are in our country, which is why we must fix the loop hole in the 14th Amendment that wrongfully grants them American citizenship.Keep the spirit of a child alive in your heart, and you can still spy the shadow of a unicorn when walking through the woods.
Laura Loomer - Woke up this morning to a @nytimes article...
03-27-2024, 11:36 PM in General Discussion