Thread: Latinos fight for political recognition

January 23, 2009

Latinos fight for political recognition

By Gebe Martinez

Puffed with pride after casting 10 million votes in November that were vital to President Barack Obama’s election, Hispanics are feeling empowered to make great demands on the new president.

But as Hispanics look to Obama to help realize their agenda, and as they take seats in the new president’s Cabinet and on congressional leadership teams, they also are facing an annoying reality: There remains a gap between the power they have earned and the Washington elite’s perception of their power.

One reason for the lag in perception may be that Latino policy leaders as well as individual members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have matured politically at a faster speed than has the caucus as a whole.

As the civil rights groups, political organizers and lawmakers have steered Latinos toward unprecedented levels of activism, the congressional caucus — haunted by past internal fighting and disorganization — is still being challenged to show that the sum of its parts makes it as strong as it should be.

The result is a continuing — albeit lessening — struggle for acknowledgment and places at key leadership tables.

During a recent ceremony for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, its new head, House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.), pledged to her Latino colleagues, “I will work my heart out to make this Congressional Hispanic Caucus a force and a relevant institution.â€

This was an old post but read as follows:
[quote]Tancredo: No Black and Hispanic Caucuses in Congress
Posted on January 25th, 2007 by ecthompson
I think it is very easy for a White Man to stand up tell us how equal everyone is and should be. America isn’t equal. Not even close. So, Rep. Tom Tancredo is WAY out of line on this one. It is my opinion that he is just trying to get the Right Wing nut job vote locked up early.

Rolling Stone has named Rep. Tom Tancredo as one of the 10 worst Congressman. That’s quite a feat. You have to beat out over 500 people to be placed in this category.

———-

From MSNBC:

White House hopeful Tom Tancredo said Thursday the existence of the Congressional Black Caucus and other race-based groups of lawmakers amounts to segregation and should be abolished.

“It is utterly hypocritical for Congress to extol the virtues of a colorblind society while officially sanctioning caucuses that are based solely on race,â€

[quote]Racist Caucuses in Congress.
Governor 12-12-2008, 4:09 PM | Post #2603993 | 33 Replies 2
Re. Cao, the Vietnamese congressman who took the Louisiana seat from the corrupt William Jefferson, would like to join the black caucus because two-thirds of his district is black. However, it most likely wont happen. You see, you apparently have to be black to join the caucus which begs the question, is there a white caucus? or a German-American one? or an Italian-American one?

The mere mention of trying to start any of those would deride the originator with calls of being a racist. However, when the tables are turned, its never the case.

This article talks about that.

There could be another clash in the offing about who should be able to join the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).


Anh “Josephâ€

Caucuses
Congressional Caucuses are formed by Members to provide a forum for issues or legislative agendas. A number of caucuses exist in the House and their primary function is to draw attention to issues of importance to their membership. Since he took office, Mike has founded five caucuses: The Congressional Caucus on Community Health Centers, the Congressional Caucus on Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities, the Congressional Caucus on Korea, the Congressional Caucus on Sudan, and the Congressional Former Mayors Caucus. A complete list of Caucus membership is provided below:

Congressional Caucus on Community Health Centers – co-founder and co-chair
Congressional Caucus on Empowerment Zones and Empowered Communities – co-chair
Congressional Caucus on Korea – co-founder and co-chair
Congressional Caucus on Sudan – co founder and co-chair
Congressional Former Mayor's Caucus – co-founder and co-chair

Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus
Alzheimer's Disease Congressional Task Force
Americans Abroad Caucus
Biomedical Research Caucus
Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus
Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus
Bipartisan Pro-Choice Caucus
Cancer Caucus
Coalition on Autism Research and Education
Community College Caucus
Congressional Arts Caucus
Congressional Biotechnology Caucus
Congressional Boating Caucus
Congressional Brain Injury Task Force
Congressional Brazil Caucus
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues
Congressional Caucus on Central America
Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues
Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Affairs
Congressional Caucus on the Netherlands
Congressional Climate Caucus
Congressional Coalition on Adoption
Congressional Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Caucus
Congressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus
Congressional Diabetes Caucus
Congressional Fire Services Caucus
Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus
Congressional Human Rights Caucus
Congressional Humanities Caucus
Congressional Internet Caucus
Congressional Kidney Caucus
Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus
Congressional Mentoring Caucus
Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus
Congressional Mental Health Caucus
Congressional Port Security Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Congressional Taskforce on International HIV/AIDS
Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
Congressional TRIO Caucus
Congressional Vision Caucus
Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
Friends of the Jobs Corps Caucus
Historic Preservation Caucus
Revitalizing Older Cities Task Force
House Hunger Caucus
House Nursing Caucus
House Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus
International Workers Rights Caucus
National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus
National Service Congressional Caucus
Navy-Marine Corps Caucus
Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition
Oil and National Security Caucus
Open Space Caucus
Out of Iraq Caucus
Patriot Act Reform Caucus
Public Broadcasting Caucus
Qatari-American Economic Strategic Defense, Culture, and Educational Partnership Caucus
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus
Research and Development Caucus
Urban Caucus

http://www.house.gov/capuano/issues/committees.shtml

Like they have not had political recognition? Let's remember Henry Cisneros, former HUD secretary and San Antonio mayor. He certainly had his day in the political lime light didn't he?

Originally Posted by bigtex

Like they have not had political recognition? Let's remember Henry Cisneros, former HUD secretary and San Antonio mayor. He certainly had his day in the political lime light didn't he?

Let's add Bill Richardson to the list.

The point isn't recognition or representation, it's total control. It's never enough. They want their guarenteed seat based on race alone and the second they get in power the only people that matter are Latinos.