From the Guardian where you can read the entire story here:

 

How Latino voters will choose in 2012

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So, looking to 2012 and the race for the GOP nomination, rather than fight about who can build the tallest electric fence, Republicans have a unique opportunity to win at least the 40% of the Hispanic vote they will need for the upcoming presidential election. GOP presidential candidates need political cover from those Republican senators and representatives who are in safe seats to take on the tough issue of immigration. Those who are secure in their districts (or states) should confront the dysfunctional immigration system head-on with reasonable proposals. After all, several state Republican lawmakers have complained that the immigration system is broken – and they attribute much of the blame to the federal government.

If federal lawmakers, particularly those from the Republican party, can demonstrate their ability to address a difficult issue in a rational way, it will only serve to benefit the economy. And all Americans stand to gain if, instead of having their tax burdens raised, new tax payers can be found and nurtured. Millions of dollars are currently wasted on detaining undocumented immigrants who perform services as nannies, gardeners and fast food workers. Tax payer dollars should be spent smartly in pursuing only the undocumented who do harm to others. Republican lawmakers can win the message war – and Latino hearts – if they rely on the factual data from economists that shows how low-skilled immigrants do indeed help create more middle-class jobs for natives and contribute to the overall economy.

There is one problem which the GOP has that prevents this from happening – and his name is Lamar Smith. While it is true that Obama is deporting record numbers of immigrants, the Texas congressman penned an op-ed recently that claimed misleadingly that the administration is artificially inflating its deportation numbers. Smith, meanwhile, continues to push for enforcement-only policies through big-government, bureaucratic methods like the E-Verify program and the prison system.

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The Republican party must learn the lesson of the Reid/Angle election – particularly in the US southwest where Latinos are registering themselves in droves. If Obama does in 2012 what Reid did at the last minute in 2010 in order to woo Latinos to go to the polls, Republicans will rue the day they threw away millions of vital votes.

Rep Lamar Smith is attacking one of the most successful Mexican-American columnists that has ever existed — Ruben Navarrette. You can read the full article here.   What is up Lamar’s sleeve?  E-verify is.  He claims it is voluntary but every single Senate office I visited last month in Washington D.C.  told me that Lamar wants to introduce a national e-verification program in August.  He’s setting out the pillows because Lamar Smith thinks e-verify will happen without protest.

The State of Florida rejected their state version of e-verify and no thanks to Lamar Smith, we are going to lose the State of Florida in 2012 because in essence he is not listening to the business community.  The business community does not want to embrace more government bureaucracy via e-verify without a reasonable immigration solution. Businesses depend on competitive labor, and Lamar wants to increase the wage rate.

Why is Lamar Smith attacking Ruben but ignoring the backbone of our economic engine?  Did he forget small businesses and farmers are the backbone of our country?

More importantly, the DREAM Act activists have already declared that they will not trade e-verify programs in exchange for passage of the DREAM Act.  You can read their response here. They already know Lamar Smith wants them to forget about their mother and father for a cheap trade.  Lamar Smith is NOT in support of maintaining the family unit and he wants to give Latinos the scraps in exchange for harsh enforcement policies by dangling the DREAM Act carrot in front of our DREAMers noses.  Pretty revolting if you ask me.

It looks like we are headed back to the days of Sensenbrenner where massive protests were sparked with enforcement only policies.  When massive protests are sparked again WE ARE GOING TO BLAME LAMAR SMITH.

(Above)  Photo taken in 2006 during the Sensenbrenner enforcement policy days.

The only way we will know President Obama is sincerely genuine in helping us with the immigration issue is if he puts a bill that will garner strong bipartisan support on the floor. He has been promising to fix the immigration issue for years now, and we hope the immigration issue does not get treated as a political football again. We also hope Republicans do not use this issue to further alienate Hispanics from the GOP party, but time will tell.  Read Official Statement by Somos Republicans below:

National Hispanic GOP Group Responds to President Obama’s Immigration Speech in El Paso, Texas

For Immediate Release – 10 May 2011

Phoenix, AZ –SOMOS REPUBLICANS is the largest conservative Hispanic Republican grassroots organization in the country committed to promoting positive solutions that confront our community and the nation today.  We are glad that President Obama wants to elevate the discussion on legal immigration again.  We have been staunch supporters of legal immigration across the Union — from Florida to Texas to Iowa to California and more. As immigration advocates, we have suffered because isolationists  want unrealistic enforcement-only policies and they have attacked our positions that can only benefit the American economy.

On the eve of Arizona’s harsh anti-immigrant law, we heard President Obama’s speech last year that emulated the one we heard today, however, the problem still exists.  We were glad the Obama administration filed the injunction that led to the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in essence declaring the immigration issue a federal issue.  Because this is a federal issue, the Obama administration must put a legal immigration bill on the floor in order to facilitate meaningful debate towards solving this tough issue.

Even though we are very happy to hear President Obama raise the immigration issue again, we have not forgotten his promise in 2008 when he promised Latinos to fix the broken immigration system. Obama still has time to put a genuine and reasonable immigration solution that both parties can support before the upcoming 2012 elections.  We know that Democrats could have passed an immigration solution the same way they passed Obamacare when they had the super majority in Congress, however, the job was not fulfilled.

That said, Republicans also should acknowledge that President Obama has spent more money on securing the borders and deporting more undocumented immigrants than President George W. Bush.  As a result of President Obama’s increased deportations of immigrants, the Gallup shows his approval among Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing demographic, has also fallen.

We sincerely hope the immigration issue is not being used as a political football yet again.  We have personally watched several families that have been forced apart due to mass deportations.  It is discouraging for us to see our Latino Democratic and Republican brothers and sisters beg for help as we rally at the state capitols fighting these anti-immigrant laws. It is painful seeing our Latin community suffer. Hate crimes have increased due to the anti-immigrant sentiment against Latinos nation-wide. We see American-born children crying as they are left behind when their parents get deported.  Some Republicans who claim to be “pro family” have been silent with regard to immigrant families being forced apart.

We are skeptical about President Obama raising the immigration issue again,  and we do not really know if he has a real intention of fixing the problem. The only way we will surely know he is serious about this issue is when he ensures an immigration bill is put on the floor that will garner strong bipartisan support.

We acknowledge that both Republicans and Democrats need political covering on the immigration issue, and we promise to give the President, Republicans and Democrats immigration political covering as we continue to build a national movement for the issues that affect the Latino community.  We believe that working across the aisle is vital to the bipartisan solution we are seeking.

Who Gets Hurt in a Government Shutdown?

If the government shuts down, the Tea Party fingerprints will be on this debacle. Everyone knows that the Tea Party movement is a small faction of the Republican Party, and everyone knows they are advocating a complete government shut down. Rep. John Boehner says he does not want a government shut down, however, if there is a shut down then everyone knows the tea party movement will claim the credit. It is crucial for Boehner not to succumb to these unreasonable ideas.

Several once thought the Tea Party movement was for “small government”, however, they are really “anti-government” and they don’t care what the consequences are. If Democrats and Republicans don’t do the mature thing and get a budget compromise passed, then our military members will not get paid. However, Congressmen and women will still get paid and they all each make about 175,000 per year plus benefits.  Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is on the record for advocating a government shutdown.  She has stated she is willing to give the entire military a flimsy two weeks of her pay when she should be offering to give her entire future pay since she has been the one advocating for a shut down.

I have an idea….all Congressmen and women should lump their money together and pay our soldiers and their dependents.  If the budget doesn’t get passed, I’d like to see Bachmann pass a hat around to every single lawmaker at the Hill instead of attending Tea Party rallies with her bull horn.

I am watching military dependent wives on television who are worried about not getting a paycheck. Are military members panicking right now? You’d better believe it! Folks, the LAST thing a soldier should worry about is whether or not their family will have money to buy groceries. They need to be focused on war, not whether or not our Congressmen can work together at the Hill. They shouldn’t have to worry whether or not their families are going to be taken care of. Many of them live paycheck to paycheck and the fact that our Congress cannot work together while we are involved with three wars is absurd. I cannot imagine how Congress would act if an act of terrorism were to occur as they continue to be hard nosed against each other. Americans are sick and tired of partisan politics. They vote in members of Congress to be mature, statesman-like and to get the damned job done.

You don’t think the wives are worried? Think again and watch the video below with regard to the wife who gets weepy over the issue.

Somos Republicans

What’s the difference between Rep. Raul Grijalva’s boycott and the Tea Party wanting government shutdown?

Have you asked yourself that question?

The government shutdown is much worse. The shutdown eliminates important Pentagon staff, it stops our military soldiers from getting paid where their families rely upon the paychecks they earn, it crushes tourism at all National Parks, museums and attractions. 800,000 people will not be working, and the list goes on and on.

Everyone was quick to jump on the band wagon and scream at Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva’s boycott when the Tea Party folks were attacking the Latino community, but when it comes to working on a budget compromise we are hearing that the Tea Party movement is advocating for a complete government shut down which is irrational and asinine.

The Tea Party folks through their support for a shut down are in essence boycotting tourism at all government parks, museums and attractions which translates into an economic loss totaling millions of dollars.

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The Arizona Republican Party is going to have to do better than Gabriela Saucedo Mercer in order to replace Congressman Raul Grijalva.  If you want to win Latino hearts and mind, it starts with educating yourselves by understanding Hispanic Culture and Demographics.   For starters, let’s find out what the the Pew Hispanic Center has to say about Latino Demography and what the data suggests with regard to our behavior.  It is absolutely imperative for the Republican Party to know that only 12% of Hispanics say local police should take an active role in identifying undocumented immigrants.  Over 80% of the Hispanic population is against SB 1070 type of laws.

If you hunt and look really hard  for Latino Republican tokens who know what you want to hear…then you will find a very small percent of Hispanics that will turn into “yes-men” for you.  (Pssst. But let me clue you in on something:  If those Hispanic Republicans know you are in support of SB 1070 type of laws, then of course they will tell you what you want to hear), but, this does not change the overall pulse of how Latinos really feel.

Approximately 44% of Hispanics voted for George W. Bush in 2004.   As of 2008, we have dwindled down to 31% who voted for McCain, and I believe much of that had to do with Obama sinking millions and millions into Hispanic media coupled with the increasing anti-immigrant sentiment that began with Sensenbrenner’s Bill – H.R. 4437.

Now, let’s look at the data and the pace that state legislators like Virgil Peck (advocated shooting ‘illegals like pigs’), and Russell Pearce (sponsor of SB 1070) are putting us on.  Do you really believe at this pace the Republican Party will win the Presidential elections of 2012? Not if Latinos can help it.  The new RNC leadership must denounce the likes of Virgil Peck to prove to the increasing number of Hispanic voters that all Republicans are not a bunch of bigots who want to empty a clip on “illegals”.

SOMOS REPUBLICANS are working in the overall best interest of the Republican Party, but we don’t do it by being “yes men”. We put people before party, and we do it by practicing good ol’ politics like Ronald Reagan used to practice.   Back then, politicians worked with each other across the aisle for what was in the best interest of the United States.  These days too many people will call you a “RINO” which means “Republican In Name Only” if you are not a far right winger;  Or, they will call you a “DINO” which means “Democrat In Name Only”.  The far leftists and right wingers are ruining our country.  We want reason and decency instead of being attacked for not being extreme enough for the party hacks.

We are hell bent on restoring our soul to the Party of Abe Lincoln.  If you want Latino Republican “tokens”, then they are going to tell you what you want to hear, but if you are smart, you will pay attention to the Pew Research data below. Those Latino Republican tokens want the immediate satisfaction of your acceptance, however, what you should be watching for is what the entire Hispanic population is saying with regard to enforcement-only policies.

If you want to dwindle Hispanic Republican support down to 12%, then embrace politicians like Russell Pearce, Tom Tancredo, J.D. Hayworth, Virgil Peck, Steve King and all the other extremists.  If you want to see MORE Hispanic Republican voters, then you must not embrace SB 1070 type of laws.  It’s that simple.

• Eight-in-ten Hispanics say local police should not be involved in identifying undocumented or illegal immigrants.
  According to the Pew Hispanic Center’s 2008 National Survey of Latinos, 81% of Hispanics said enforcement of immigration laws should be left mainly to the federal authorities while just 12% said local police should take an active role. Among the general public, opinion is split — in 2007, half (49%) of non-Hispanics said enforcement should be left mainly to federal authorities, while 45% said local police should take an active role.
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