Thread: Villaraigosa:Not Enough Diversity At Liberal Conference

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Mayor-Elect: Not Enough Diversity at Liberal Conference
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
June 01, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - Los Angeles' mayor-elect, serving as an opening speaker at a liberal political conference titled "Take Back America," looked around the room Wednesday and complained that he didn't "see the kind of diversity that we need to build a strong movement in America."

"I think we need to look long and hard within our movement, within ourselves," said Mayor-Elect Antonio Villaraigosa. "We're not reaching out enough."

Villaraigosa will soon become mayor of the second-largest city in the United States, where more than 120 languages are spoken. "Americans want you not just to talk to their brains and minds, but talk to their hearts as well," he said. "But you can't just talk at people. You have to listen, too."

Villaraigosa also noted the importance of working with people "on the other side. After all, they got elected, too," he said. "America is a great place, but it would be an even greater place if we had leadership that would bring us together."

However, the agenda of the three-day Take Back America conference shows little desire on the part of liberal Democrats to work with Republicans. One of the numerous plenary sessions planned for Thursday is titled, "The Most Corrupt Congress: Time to Clean the Stables." Another is billed, "Why 'Bushonomics' Failed: Lower Taxes, Larger Government, Poorer People."

Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, charged Wednesday that "the right is in control and out of control."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is Thursday morning's featured speaker. He'll be joined by failed California gubernatorial candidate and current columnist/activist Arianna Huffington.

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His idea of diversity would be to annex off LA to Mexico.