Former President Clinton to open La Raza gathering
By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer

One of the largest Latino organizations in the country will host a former president and a top Bush adviser today at a conference in Los Angeles.

The National Council of La Raza, a civil rights group, will open the conference with remarks by former President Bill Clinton who is expected to lead the morning panel.

The four-day conference also will be attended by President Bush's top adviser Karl Rove, who is expected to speak at a Tuesday lunch with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina will attend the conference as well.

"We are seeing the fastest growing community in the United States and it's found its voice in the millions who marched and rallied for the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform -- and the political potential it has,'' said Lisa Navarrege, vice president of the national council. "It should be no secret that both political parties are reaching out to our community.''

Rove has been the main architect for the Republican Party's strategy to reach out to Latino voters, Navarrege added.

"It's not in the best interest of the parties to ignore the growing Latino population,'' she said.

The conference, which began in 1976, is the largest event of the year among the Latino community. Former presidential candidates, senators and congressional leaders, and even foreign dignitaries, have attended in the past, Navarrege said.

The National Council of La Raza was given $15.2 million in federal grants last year and is considered by many Washington insiders to be one of the most powerful Latino lobbying groups in the country.

Some hard-line Republican leaders and border enforcement supporters, however, have criticized the Bush administration for sending Rove to the conference, citing that the council promotes illegal immigration, racism and amnesty. Jack Pitney, government professor at Claremont McKenna College and author of numerous essays about the Republican Party, said that Rove's presence is part of the administration's plan to reach out to Latino voters.

"He wants Republicans to get a larger share of the Latino vote, especially as the population increases in size,'' Pitney said.

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