Republicans say they love Latinos, but they sure have a funny way of showing it.
Recently, the Senate killed the controversial Vitter Amendment, which would have required that the 2010 Census questionnaire be changed to include an unprecedented question regarding citizenship status. Crafted by Republican Senator David Vitter (Louisiana), the amendment was widely seen as a GOP tactic to discourage immigrants and Latinos from participating in the Census, which has always counted “persons” rather than “citizens.”
Following the vote, immigrant activist Jorge-Mario Cabrera of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles expressed relief, assuring me that: “The Vitter amendment was nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt at scaring immigrants from participating in the Census.”
Los Republicanos dicen amar a los latinos, pero tienen una forma muy extraña de demostrarlo.
Recientemente el Senado derrotó la conflictiva enmienda Vitter, que habría requerido cambios al cuestionario del Censo 2010 para incluir una pregunta sin precedentes relacionada con la ciudadanía. Diseñada por el Senador Republicano David Vitter de Louisiana, la enmienda era ampliamente percibida como una táctica del GOP (Gran Partido Viejo) para disuadir a los inmigrantes y a los latinos de participar en el censo, que tradicionalmente ha contado “personas” en vez de “ciudadanos”.
Tras el voto, el activista de inmigración Jorge Cabrera, de la Coalición para los Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes en Los Angeles, expresó su alivio y me aseguró que: “La enmienda Vitter no era otra cosa que un velado intento para asustar a los inmigrantes y evitar su participación en el Censo.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) lambasted Vitter’s Amendment, declaring it unconstitutional and likening it to racist practices that once counted ethnic minorities as less than human in the Census process. In response, an indignant Senator Vitter called for Senator Reid to apologize.
But Juan Parra, Senator Reid’s Director of Communications for Hispanic Media, told me that an apology is not forthcoming, saying that Reid was rightfully concerned that Vitter’s “amendment was unconstitutional, expensive, disruptive and would have discouraged many people from participating in the census, especially Hispanics.”
It is pretty ironic that Republicans would abandon both their professed love of Latinos as well as their trademark fiscal conservatism to support an anti-immigrant, anti-Latino measure at the enormous estimated expense of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the US Commerce Department as reported in the NY Times.
But why stop when you’re building momentum? Senate Republicans seem to be on a roll when it comes to exuding tough love for Latinos. The Vitter drama follows the failure of a Senate resolution to garner a single Republican vote in declaring October 25-31, 2009 National Hispanic Media Week. Fairly innocuous acknowledgements, these types of resolutions are common in a Senate which recently witnessed a rare flash of bipartisan support for a similar tribute to a home furnishings market in North Carolina.
Sorry, Hispanic media and the audiences you serve. I guess what you’re doing is not as important as upholstery to Republican legislators.
Strangely, a few years back, before GOP Senators started down this path by slighting Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor during her confirmation hearings, garnering bipartisan support for a straightforward accolade was not so difficult. In 2005 to be precise, former Sens. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) supported a similar bill honoring Hispanic media.
Today’s atmosphere in the Senate reflects that while the importance of the Latino vote has certainly continued to grow, as evidenced in the 2008 elections, political polarization seems to be growing at a greater rate.
Could it be that the GOP simply hates the Democrats and what they stand for more than they love the Latino vote?
You don’t have to look further than Texas for an answer to that question. While the state’s population is one-third Latino, both of its Republican Senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, consistently thumb their noses at the best interests of their Latino constituents. They both voted obstinately against Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation. They both advocated adamantly for the ongoing construction of the infamous border fence, despite the vociferous protestations of residents and elected officials along the Rio Grande (a region which happens to be over 90% Latino.) And they both rigidly oppose health care reform even though 42 percent of Texas Latinos – more than any other group in the nation – are uninsured.
Perhaps it doesn’t help that there’s now only one Latino in the entire US Senate. Maybe since they don’t see any Latinos in their midst, the GOP Senators are forgetting that we exist and deserve a voice too.
On the other hand, as the 2010 mid-term election campaigns approach, I have a feeling the Republican Party will suddenly, conveniently remember to reach out to Latinos. They’ll laud Latinos as an integral thread within the fabric of America’s future. Their candidates will no doubt make clumsy attempts at speaking Spanish, recounting heartwarming anecdotes of the hardworking Latinos they’ve met on the campaign trail and – if they’re lucky –parading Latino in-laws who might have married into their family before crowds at multicultural gatherings. Notable Latino Republican pundits will wax ad nauseum about how the Republican Party’s core principles resonate with traditional Latino family values, taking the tired abortion wedge issue out for another spin through the barrio.
But as times goes on and Latino voters become more savvy, acculturated and nuanced in their thinking about politics, these Republicanos better watch out.
We have an old saying in Spanish. You may have heard it in English too: “Actions speak louder than words.”
I’m hoping Latinos respond accordingly and do two things: vote these hipócritas out of office and run for their seats. That way we can show ourselves a little love rather than pleading for it when it comes time to forge the policies of tomorrow.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Rudy Ruiz.
Rudy Ruiz has been hailed as a cultural visionary. A published author and multicultural advocate, Ruiz is an acclaimed multicultural communications entrepreneur. He founded Red, Brown and Blue as well as Interlex, one of the nation’s leading advocacy marketing agencies ranked by Ad Age as one of the Top US Agencies across all disciplines. Prior to that, Ruiz earned his BA in Government at Harvard College and his Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
El líder de la mayoría en el Senado, el Senador Harry Reid (Demócrata de Nevada) criticó la enmienda Vitter, declarándola anticonstitucional y comparándola a las prácticas racistas que en un tiempo contaban a las minorías étnicas como menos que humanos en el proceso del Censo. En respuesta a sus comentarios, un indignado Senador Vitter pidió al Senador Reid se disculpase.
Pero Juan Parra, Director de Comunicaciones del Senador Reid para los medios informativos hispanos, me dijo que no habría disculpa, diciendo que Reid estaba justamente preocupado porque “la enmienda era anticonstitucional, cara, perturbadora y habría disuadido a muchas personas de participar en el censo, particularmente a los hispanos.”
Es irónico que los Republicanos abandonasen tanto su profeso amor por los latinos como la conservadora tendencia fiscal que los caracteriza, para apoyar una medida anti-inmigrantes y anti-latinos y tal como se informó en el New York Times, según el Departamento de Comercio de los EE.UU con un costo de cientos de millones de dólares para los contribuyentes.
Pero porqué detenerse cuando vas tomando impulso? Los republicanos en el Senado parecen andar enrachados en cuanto a destilar amor a los latinos. El drama Vitter viene después de que una resolución del Senado no logró obtener un solo voto republicano para declarar la semana del 25-31 de Octubre como Semana Nacional de los Medios Informativos Hispanos. Este tipo de resoluciones, que no son otra cosa que reconocimientos inofensivos, son muy comunes en un Senado que recientemente fue testigo de un raro destello de apoyo bipartidista para un tributo similar a un mercado de muebles para el hogar en el estado de Carolina del Norte.
Lo sentimos mucho, medios hispanos de comunicación y las audiencias a las que ustedes sirven, pero creo que lo que ustedes hacen no es para los legisladores republicanos tan importante como el tapizado.
Extrañamente, hace unos cuantos años, antes que los senadores del Gran Partido Viejo se iniciaran en este camino menospreciando a la Juez Sotomayor de la Suprema Corte durante sus audiencias de confirmación, acumular apoyo bipartidista para un homenaje no era tan difícil. Para ser precisos, en 2005 los entonces senadores Pete Domenici (Republicano de Nuevo México) y Mel Martínez (Republicano de Florida), apoyaron un proyecto similar de ley para honrar a los medios informativos hispanos.
La atmósfera actual en el senado refleja que mientras que la importancia del voto latino se ha incrementado, como se hizo evidente en las elecciones de 2008, la polarización política parece crecer a un ritmo más acelerado.
Será posible que el Gran Partido Viejo sencillamente odia a los demócratas y lo que representan aún más de lo que aman el voto latino?
Usted no tiene que ir más lejos que el estado de Texas para encontrar la respuesta a esa pregunta. Mientras que la población del estado se compone en una tercera parte de latinos, ambos senadores republicanos, Kay Bailey Hutchinson y John Cornyn, consistentemente se burlan de los intereses de sus constituyentes latinos. Ambos obstinadamente votaron en contra de la confirmación de la Juez Sotomayor. Ambos abogaron rotundamente en pro de la construcción del infame muro fronterizo aún a pesar de las protestas vociferantes de los residentes y los funcionarios públicos de toda la región del Rio Grande (compuesta en más del 90% por latinos). Y ambos se oponen firmemente a la reforma al sistema de salud a pesar de que el 42% de los latinos de Texas – más que cualquier otro grupo en el país – carece de seguro médico.
Tal vez el hecho que actualmente hay un solo latino en el Senado de los Estados Unidos no ayuda. Es probable que como no ven latinos en medio de ellos, los senadores del GOP se olvidan que nosotros existimos y merecemos ser escuchados.Por otro lado, a medida que se aproxima la elección de 2010, yo tengo el presentimiento que el Partido Republicano repentina y convenientemente recordará acercarse a los latinos. Elogiarán a los latinos como un hilo integral dentro de la tela del futuro del país. Sus candidatos sin duda que harán un torpe intento de hablar español, recordarán anécdotas conmovedoras de los latinos trabajadores que han conocido durante la campaña y – si tienen la suerte de contar con ellos – exhibirán a sus parientes latinos ante las multitudes en reuniones multiculturales. Los notables expertos republicanos latinos repetirán hasta el cansancio que los principios básicos del partido republicano son similares a los tradicionales valores familiares de los latinos, y sacarán el desgastado tema del aborto para pasearlo una vez más por el barrio.
Pero a medida que pasa el tiempo y los votantes latinos se hacen más conocedores de las culturas y agregan matices a su forma de percibir la política, estos republicanos deberán tener más cuidado.
Tenemos un dicho en español que quizá haya usted escuchado también en inglés “Los hechos dicen más que las palabras.”
Yo espero que los hispanos respondan adecuadamente y hagan dos cosas: que con su voto saquen a esos hipócritas de sus puestos y se postulen para obtenerlos. De esta forma podremos nosotros mismos demostrarnos un poco de amor y no tendremos que andarlo mendigueando cuando sea tiempo de forjar las políticas del futuro.
Rudy Ruiz es conocido como un visionario cultural. Autor y campeón de los derechos de comunidades multiculturales, Ruiz es un destacado empresario de comunicaciones. Fundó Red, Brown and Blue e Interlex, una de las agencias de mercadeo social más reconocidas en la nación, proclamada por Ad Age como una de las agencias de publicidad más importantes en el pais. Anteriormente, Ruiz se graduó de Harvard College y obtuvo su maestría en Administración Pública en el Harvard Kennedy School.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:45 am
Let’s face it once and get it over with. The republicans are the last stronghold for racism and racists in this country…and that includes latinos.
This fear, that someone (and they generally mean blacks and hispanics) will get something for nothing, is what is driving everything from the retardation of the healthcare debate to immigration reform.
The good news, if there is any, is that the republican party is fracturing into the anti-abortion and racist people and the big business people. Hopefully it will be a fatal fracture for both of them.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
It’s amazing the polarization that exists these days. The difficulty with the politics of “The Latino Vote” is that there are two vastly different segments of the Latino population. Those that are legal and those who are not. I work with dozens of latino coworkers of which these two segments exist. I have a huge internal conflict as I see the amount of illegal workers and the constant lying about who they are so they can continue to work and live. They have phony social security numbers, they claim nine or ten on their W9 forms and never file taxes, they pile dozens of checks into a single legal checking account to get their money, etc. They also are extremely nice, giving and hard working with adorable families of US citizen children. I enjoy being with them and having them be a part of my life and my family’s life. But on the other hand, I also see the cost to America (Black, Brown & White) when they go into a hospital with no intention of paying the costs incurred, the use of other people’s social security numbers, having to watch my children wait for three members of their kindergarten class learn English and put their learning on hold until others have “caught up” and the teachers can proceed with the material they have to teach to meet the minimum obligations. Unfortunately, there is an impossibility of treating the Latino population the same until the Latino population will help itself by encouraging themselves to illegally enter the country and constantly be living a lie that is their “rights as an American” instead of someone just living in America. Those who do find the way to attain legal status as a documented worker or citizen suffer because of those who do not. It’s not racism, it’s a single set of standards for two different segments of the population.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I would be greatly surprised if there are only two “segments” of the “Latino” vote. My experience, extending now over 60 years (some of it, obviously, pre-natal)indicates that Americans – all of us – vote in response to a smorgasbord (how’s that for ethnic) of issues, personalities, local conditions, fears – but bloc votes, thank God, we ain’t got. When a large segment of the population responds in the same way to the questions posed by any elections, the system is working as the Founding Fathers envisioned. When there is no clear answer to such questions, the system is working as the Founding Fathers envisioned. We are supposed to consider, debate, investigate and decide, and while “investigate” tends to get short shrift, we mostly do as the FFS intended. Thank God.