Thread: Avoiding immigration issues

http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2 ... /news1.txt

Beyond Boulder

Avoiding immigration issues

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press Writer
Monday, July 3, 2006 12:03 AM MDT

Rachel Olivarez-Sellers doesn't bring up immigration anymore as she crisscrosses Colorado trying to reach out to new Hispanic voters. It's just too complicated.

It's not that she doesn't have strong views. After taking over the state Democratic Party's Latino Initiative last year, Olivarez-Sellers helped push the party to take a formal position against a proposed ballot measure that would have denied illegal immigrants non-emergency public services.

But in some of Colorado's 64 far-flung counties, she finds local Democrats split on the issue. So are the Hispanic voters she encounters.

“I think they've been listening too long to the rhetoric and forget that they have brown skin,” said Olivarez-Sellers, a union electrician who admits to being angry with her own party sometimes.


“They're not making it any easier,” she said of her fellow Democrats.

For all the excitement surrounding the big immigration rallies earlier this year, experts say both parties face a difficult time trying to address illegal immigration while also reaching out to the nation's growing Hispanic population in an election year. It is a particularly awkward problem in Colorado.

Democrats did well here two years ago, taking control of the Legislature for the first time in decades and picking up two open congressional seats from the GOP in a dramatic coup by the brothers John and Ken Salazar.

Republicans, who saw a boost in Hispanic support for President Bush in 2004, hope to oust Rep. John Salazar, hang on to the governor's office and retake the Legislature this fall. They could get a boost from the special legislative session called by GOP Gov. Bill Owens to discuss illegal immigration, a session that begins July 6.

Independent pollster Floyd Ciruli of Denver said Hispanic voters in Colorado tend to mirror the national trend of voting 65-35 in favor of Democrats.

Still, he said Democrats are being cautious because they know that, overall, there are many voters - here and elsewhere - looking to the government to do something about illegal immigration.

“The issue has simply come alive. It has come way outside what people thought it would be,” Ciruli said. He said Democrats “feel they are very vulnerable” if they don't come up with something that appears tough on illegal immigration.

Ciruli said the greatest risk for Republicans is giving Democrats even more of an edge in Hispanic support.

He pointed to California, where Republican Gov. Pete Wilson alienated many Hispanics by supporting a measure to outlaw most state aid to illegal immigrants - an issue that will be before Colorado lawmakers when they return to the Capitol on Thursday.

Following this spring's rallies, the national Democratic Party ran national radio ads in Spanish and English promoting a “Tough and Smart” stance on illegal immigration. And right before the Senate began to debate immigration, party leaders met with Hispanic religious leaders to talk about a House bill they thought could have criminalized clergy and others for trying to help illegal immigrants, party spokesman Luis Miranda said.

Colorado Democrats have been using Spanish-language materials to help communicate their platform to voters, and it is working with the national party to develop a plan for reaching Hispanic voters.

That plan, however, is not tied to immigration.

“We're the party of diversity and we want every voter enfranchised,” party chairwoman Pat Waak said. “This is a state for Democrats where every single vote counts so we don't want to leave anybody out.”

Nationally, Republicans are continuing to try to build on their gains with Hispanic voters. The Republican National Committee promotes President Bush's immigration agenda and touts the contributions of immigrants in a section of its Web site targeting Hispanics.

RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman has appeared at some 30 Hispanic events across the country and the party is proud of its record on education, health care, tax cuts and helping small businesses in reaching out to Hispanic voters, RNC spokeswoman Hessy Fernandez said.

She said Republicans are taking on immigration because it's a tough issue that needs to be solved.

“This is a continuous job. We're doing it now, we've done it before and we'll keep doing it,” Fernandez said of the party's outreach.

Colorado GOP chairman Bob Martinez started a Hispanic outreach committee when he took over last year. To Martinez, promoting the Bush administration's push for “rational and reasonable” immigration reform is an easy selling point.

“We're trying to reach the individual voter and appeal to them on a philosophical basis and an accomplishment basis,” he said.

Still, Martinez said he hopes the immigration debate is over by the time the GOP cranks up the outreach effort ahead of the midterm elections. In his words, he hopes “the issue can be put behind us.”

John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University, said Republicans have more to lose with Hispanic voters on immigration because some of their rhetoric comes across as “anti-Hispanic”, whether it's intended or not.

Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College, said the state's Hispanic population may be growing but its members have historically not turned out in large numbers at the polls.

“I think the Republicans are making the calculation that the issue is felt so strongly by the non-Hispanic voters that it's worth the loss of some Hispanic voters,” Loevy said.

A coalition of unions, Hispanic activists and religious groups put together citizenship and voter registration drives for July 1 in at least 19 states - including Colorado. The effort was intended to register a million new voters.

Still, experts say the parties themselves don't seem to be doing much differently to sign up voters from the spring rallies.

“I think they've been listening too long to the rhetoric and forget that they have brown skin,” said Olivarez-Sellers, a union electrician who admits to being angry with her own party sometimes.

Got to that part and couldn't read further. Will try to read the rest later.

ldydrake

I almost marked that sentence. They just don't get what America is SUPPOSED to be about. They are SUPPOSED to vote for the candidate they most closely believe in, NOT BECAUSE OF RACE, RELIGION, etc.

Unless we're idealists and didn't know it?

yeppers, I think you're right!

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=33327

Have a quick peek here

And we're the racists?

“I think they've been listening too long to the rhetoric and forget that they have brown skin,” said Olivarez-Sellers, a union electrician who admits to being angry with her own party sometimes.

So if you are Hispanic and an American Patriot, you are a traitor to your race.

This has nothing to do with the color of ones skin. This has to do with the laws of this country, the fleecing of taxpayers, the crimes illegals commit without consequence, the governments betrayal, etc. In other words this is about loyalty to the United State of America.

I almost marked that sentence. They just don't get what America is SUPPOSED to be about. They are SUPPOSED to vote for the candidate they most closely believe in, NOT BECAUSE OF RACE, RELIGION, etc.

Curiouspat, I had it marked and was reading through the rest of the posts before I commented. Then I chose to mark your post instead.

These people floor me. I get so sick of hearing them whine about their "brown skin." I can remember when Hispanics used to claim they were white because they thought they could get more perks by being white. Now that it has become more profitable to become Latino, the population explosion is out of sight!

Out west you hear it all the time. The hispanics already elected have a little club where they contribute money to get more and more of them elected. Our congressman is backing his sister in law for county judge. I guess they figure that if they whine long enough and loud enough someone will start giving a damn. Well, I got news, they might think the squeaky wheel gets the most grease but it's getting to where the squeaky wheel gets toted to the dump first.

Junius

The hispanics already elected have a little club where they contribute money to get more and more of them elected. Our congressman is backing his sister in law for county judge

Why do you think the Cubans are so powerful? Just for this reason.

I posted an article about that organization several months ago. I can't find the article and I can't remember what the name of the organization is but it definitely exists and the next time I see the name of it, I'm going to put it on my bulletin board so I can keep reminding people that the children of the invaders are plotting our demise in secret.