The need and rise of the Latino/Hispanic Independent Voter in 2012

By DeeDee Garcia Blase

This will be my last entry as  “Arizona Hispanic Republicans” for the Tucson Citizen. I will now be writing under the HISPANIC POLITICO.

SOMOS REPUBLICANS.

As many of you might already know, I have stepped down as President of SOMOS REPUBLICANS – the largest Hispanic Republican group in the nation.  It became the biggest because we grew out of crisis and we were the only ones in the nation who advocated for Immigrant and Latino Rights.  SOMOS became nationally known when we rebuked Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and State Senator Russell Pearce for demonizing immigrants and Latinos. SOMOS remains in good hands as I have ensured that the organization will not be hijacked by Tea Party extremists and anti-Immigrant supporters.

It’s time for  me to divorce the Republican Party, and go an Independent and new direction.

As many of you might already know, I am an Independent registered voter now.  I will vote in the Republican primaries for the sole purpose of weeding out the worst Republicans.  As an Independent voter who will vote in Republican primaries….I get to vote for the most immigrant friendly GOPers as feasibly possible.  Before you laugh at that, realize what effect we could have as a bunch of Latino Independents and how we could actually bring about some upsets for restrictionists and isolationists in both parties.

THE NATIONAL TEQUILA PARTY MOVEMENT.

I am ready to unleash my passions within the National Tequila Party Movement.  That’s where the real power is at because I get to work with the broader political spectrum and people across the nation during a time in which Latino Republican voter strength continues to dwindle.  Little do people know how the Tequila Party (where most members and leaders are of Mexican descent) will turn into a type of an American Party because we are the compassionate ones who remember that immigrants made this nation great.  We are the ones who still believe that the United States is that Shining City on a Hill and we still believe we are a beacon to the whole world.  The Tequila Party will prove that Latinos are just as patriotic as any other ethnic class because we know we have shed our blood, too, in American wars.  It is not the fault of Hispanics for leaving the GOP.  Latino Republicans are dwindling because of Republican extremists like Tom Tancredo, J.D. Hayworth, Russell Pearce, Jan Brewer, Pete Wilson, Joe Arpaio, Marco Rubio (Latino Republican who is anti-immigrant), Lamar Smith, Steve King, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Sharron Angle, Virgil Peck, and so one.

THE POWER IS WITH THE PEOPLE.

I have known it all along:  The key to 2012 is to motivate Latinos to vote.  In fact, I believe 2012 will be the year of the Hispanics when we vote in droves because we are fed up.   They should not feel disgruntled about the status quote, but instead be glad with the rising population numbers in our class as we look ahead and take matters into our own hands.  We have the power to change the course of this country.  We want to revive the American Revolution and we are not afraid of immigrants because we know immigrants made this country a great one. We are in control of our destinies to a point.  We should continue to change what is in our power to change, and that means we need to vote more assertively.  If Latinos don’t vote, it is our own fault for the situation that we are in.  If only Latinos could play the political game the way we play soccer and how passionate and strategic we are about futbol.

WHY INDEPENDENT?

Being an Independent voter puts us in a “free agent” type of status.  Both parties have to work harder to woo us and this is a good position for us to be in, particularly when the Party we might have ‘believed in’ took advantage of our votes.  As more of us become registered Independent voters, both parties will tread carefully on issues that are near and dear to our hearts like the broken immigration system and our wanting to fix it.  It doesn’t stop at immigration, we look ahead at securing our interests via redistricting issues, and ensuring fairness to that regard.

More importantly, an Independent voter recognizes how the far right and the far left are truly ruining this country.  There needs to be more Independent voters to moderate policy discussion so that we can bring this nation back on the right course.  The right course is being able to work across the aisle.  Federal lawmakers need to take care of American business.  We need to be united on the tough issues and not be for government shut downs and etc.

MALCOM X.

We ought to learn a small lesson from Malcolm X  specifically regarding his views during Civil Rights era for African-Americans to become Independent Voters.  But, substitute Civil Rights era with the Immigrant / Latino Rights era in today’s climate.

Little did I know how accurate X was on pushing for the Independent voter to influence POLICY ISSUES.  Latinos should should learn from this specifically as it relates to the immigration issue and fixing what we all know is broken.

In order for Latinos to push for IMMIGRATION FIXES, we must get more involved. As more of us register as Independents. This will force R’s and D’s in a position to work harder for our votes and they will not be able to predict our voting behavior. This is good for them not to predict and take advantage of us. Both sides must work on fixing the broken immigration voters.

From the NATIONAL TEQUILA PARTY MOVEMENT (a Hispanic female-led political national movement that counters the Tea Party and rocks the Latino Vote).

Rubio, Will you show them your papers, please?

Early this year in June, 2011, I attended an immigration summit in Washington D.C., sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, called “Immigration Works and Conservatives for Immigration Reform.” One of the reasons I wanted to attend was to try to strengthen Latino and Jewish relationships. Together, immigration advocates made several Senate and Congressional visits.

About a dozen of us visited Senator Marco Rubio’s office where we met with one of his staffers. Senator Rubio’s aide told a group of Florida constituents who had just attended the immigration conference that the Senator was against the Dream Act because it was a form of “amnesty.” The aide stressed to the group that Senator Rubio’s family came to the United States via legal mechanisms, and the Senator believed that others should follow the law.

Is that so?

Recent articles have pointed out that Senator Rubio’s parents first entered the United States in l956, prior to the Cuban Revolution of 1959. His mother returned to Cuba in l961, weeks before the Bay of Pigs invasion, but only for a couple of weeks and she decided to return to the USA in exile. Given Senator Rubio’s intransigent position on immigration reform, his own family’s immigration history should be examined under a microscope.

What was the legal status of his parents and older siblings who were born in Cuba, in the United States between l956 and 1966? Were they visa overstays? If not, what was their legal status, and where is the proof of such legal status? It is important to note that less than half of our country’s present undocumented population of about 10 million entered the country via the United States’ border with Mexico – the rest entered with a visa and overstayed. Visa overstays are as undocumented as those that cross the border.

Senator Rubio’s parents had a daughter born in the United States between the period of l956 and l966, a time period where their legal status is unclear. Senator Rubio’s sister would not be allowed to be a United States citizen pursuant to legislation that some in his Tea Party are introducing – which would change the 14th Amendment to not grant citizenship to children born in the United States to one or two undocumented parents.

The generous “Cuban Adjustment Act” of November 2, 1966, seems to have given Senator Rubio’s family a shot at the American dream. It seems that Senator Rubio’s parents after 10 years of a questionable immigration status – or as visa overstays – were able to become legal, with what many call, “the Cuban Amnesty.” To this day, any Cuban that is inspected or paroled into the United States can become a Legal Permanent Resident a year after they first enter. This law also grants this status to a Cuban national that crosses the United States’ Mexican border illegally. Senator Rubio’s brother, Mario, became a United States citizen in 1971. Legal Permanent Residents can apply to become naturalized United States citizens five years after they are allowed to become Legal Permanent Residents. It is interesting to note that Senator Rubio’s brother became a naturalized United States citizen in 1971, five years after the Cuban Adjustment Act.

Carlos Roa, one of the four courageous “Dream Walkers” who on January 1, 2011, walked 1,500 miles from Miami, Florida to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of the Dream Act, has parallels to Senator Rubio’s immigration story. Carlos was brought to the United States from Venezuela by his parents with a visa when he was two years of age. His parents perhaps decided to remain in the United States, in “exile” as a result of President Chavez’ close links to Castro’s Cuba and the changed political landscape in Venezuela. Unlike Senator Rubio’s brother, Mario, Congress has not enacted the “Venezuelan Adjustment Act.” There are about 2 million children brought to this country by their parents, many escaping repressive governments, others escaping abject poverty, while their parents fill our nation’s labor needs in many industries. The rule of law is important, and we must strive to fix our broken immigration system to promote legal migration and give us an immigration system that makes us globally competitive for the 21st century.

We hope that Senator Rubio joins Republican Representative Ileana Ros Lehiten to work across the aisle with Senator Bob Menendez and give our nation sensible immigration reform that is needed to help our economy as well. Our current enforcement approach to a broken system is fiscally irresponsible. If Senator Rubio fails to work for the good of our nation and give back to others what this nation did for his family, we will continue to demand from his parents and siblings born in Cuba from 1956 to 1966, their “papers, please.”

It was unfortunate for me to learn about Rubio defending Arizona’s “papers, please” law, but now birthers and nativists are asking his family to show their papers. What it amounts to is that at the end of the day Rubio is just like the rest of us.

Follow the National Tequila Party Movement (Female-led political movement) on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TequilaPartyMovement

Official Statement

Latino Organizations Request for Arizona Attorney General Investigation Into Olivia Cortes / Tea Party / Russell Pearce Supporters

Phoenix, AZ — A broad coalition of National Hispanic organizations are joining forces in support Arizona National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA)’s formal request to conduct an investigation of any wrongdoing, into the events surrounding the Russell Pearce’s Cortez scandal and upcoming special election to be held November 8, 2011. SOMOS REPUBLICANS (largest Hispanic Republican group in the nation) and the National Tequila Party Movement (a Latino counter-movement to the Tea Party Movement), are in full support of NLPOA’s letter below:

Dear Attorney General Horne:

On behalf of the Arizona National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA), this letter is submitted as a formal request to conduct an investigation of  any wrongdoing, into the events surrounding the Russell Pearce’s Cortez scandal and upcoming special election for the recall of Senate President Russell Pearce to be held November 8, 2011.

The NLPOA is the largest Latino law enforcement organization in the United States, with local chapters in many cities throughout the country, including Puerto Rico.  Its membership includes Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, Police Officers, Correctional Officers, Parole Agents, and Federal Officers, all of whom are employed at the local, county, state, and federal levels.  The mission of the NLPOA is to foster a fraternal, professional Association that provides support, advocacy, personal, professional, and leadership development to its members, and a strong commitment to community service.

The Arizona Chapter of the NLPOA is troubled by the recent actions of Tea Party members, and supporters of Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce for fabricating an illegal scheme to defraud Arizona voters.  Olivia Cortes, a Hispanic female, was either persuaded or willingly participated in a sham candidacy to run against State Senator Russell Pearce in the upcoming recall election.  It is clear that this was an attempt to mislead Hispanic voters to vote for Olivia Cortes, instead of Republican Jerry Lewis; State Senator Russell Pearce’s legitimate opponent in the election.

This attempt to manipulate the outcome of a state ordered election should be investigated for any wrongdoing under Arizona Revised Statues.  The Arizona Constitution, Article 7 section 12 charges the Legislature with the duty to “maintain the purity of elections.”

Arizona case law has held that attempting to place a “diversionary candidate” on the ballot is illegal.  A “diversionary candidate” is one who is in the race solely to divert votes from a particular candidate so as to give an advantage to another candidate this is a violation of ARS 16-1006, a class 5 felony.

In recent Maricopa County Superior Court hearings evidence was obtained that indicates there is more than enough probable cause to open an investigation, to determine if there were any criminal actions involved in defrauding the voters of Legislative District 18.

·   Olivia Cortes was recruited to run as a fraudulent and diversionary candidate by Senator Russell Pearce supporters.

·   Greg Western, Chairman of the East Valley Tea Party and Olivia Cortes’ campaign advisor and a Russell Pearce campaign committee member, persuaded Olivia Cortes to sign her Political Committee Statement of Organization and run for the State Senate to divert Hispanic votes from Jerry Lewis in order to benefit Senator Russell Pearce.

·   Under oath before Superior Court Judge Edward Burke’s Court Russell Pearce supporters admitted they put Olivia Cortes on the ballot to divert Hispanic votes away from Republican Jerry Lewis.

·   Judge Edward Burke wrote that Greg Western’s testimony in his court was too improbable to believe.  Greg Western testified under oath that he had no idea who designed, posted, and paid for campaign signs supporting Olivia Cortes or who paid the professional petition circulators.

·   Olivia Cortes admitted in Judge Burke’s court that she had no knowledge of who paid for campaign signs supporting her candidacy or who paid for the professional petition circulators.

·   State Senator Russell Pearce’s brother, North Mesa Justice of the Peace Lester Pearce and two nieces, Megan Sirrine and Shilo Session, were directly involved in circulating petitions for Olivia Cortes in order to place Olivia Cortes on the recall ballot to run against Senator Russell Pearce.  These family members of Senator Russell Pearce had no intention of supporting Olivia Cortes for Russell Pearce’s senate seat.

The Hispanic Community and the community at large are outraged that Olivia Cortes was used to help them commit voter fraud, by successfully placing her on the recall election ballot.  This example of voter fraud should be vigorously investigated and wrongdoers should be punished.  It is an injustice to ignore this gravity of voter fraud, and to allow this insult to the Hispanic Community and Arizona voters.

The NLPOA is requesting that the Arizona Attorney General’s office conduct an investigation into this unethical manipulation and apparent fraudulent scheme, and conspiracy by Tea Party members and Senator Russell Pearce supporters.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.  If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me at 602-680-9985.

Sincerely,

###

I don’t think Herman Cain realizes that he is costing the 2012 Presidential elections as he jokes about Latino immigrant deadly fences.  We all know the outrage we would hear if anyone made any jokes about the Jewish community and the Hitler camps.  Equally heinous would be any jokes and remarks made of slave lynchings and hangings, therefore, the Latino community will NOT support any candidate who has a history of demonizing the immigrants.  The worst GOP Candidates ever so are are Herman Cain and Mitt Romney.  Looks like their strategy to ditch the Latin vote in order to gain Anglo voters might work.

Herman Cain visited the State of Arizona and he refused to apologize for his electric fence remark today.

According to the Phoenix New Times:

“I don’t like to offend anyone…however, I don’t apologize for using a combination of a fence. And it might be electrified — I’m not walking away from that….”   <snip>

“Why are they going after you? What about me? We’re both unorthodox, right,” Arpaio butted in during Cain’s press conference. “I have illegal immigrants in the hot tents. I have them on chain-gangs, why are you concerned with what he said?”

It’s not a “who treats immigrants the shittiest” contest, Joe.

Read the rest of the story here.

 

On a different note, Latino Activist, Santiago James Chavez,  created a cartoon expressing his sentiments with regard to Cain’s atrocious remarks which advocated deadly electric fences against Latin immigrants. You can see the video here.

Tequila Party Movement — DeeDee Garcia Blase

From the Huffington Post — Latino Voices.

Much commotion has been made concerning a recent Republican effort to win over Latino voting support. While it might be admirable for the GOP to make an attempt to reach out to Latinos during a Presidential election year, I am afraid that their efforts will be fruitless until they reverse the actions of their dismal record regarding last December’s 2010 DREAM Act vote. We are now seeing former Senator Norm Coleman attempting to win over Latino voters via his Hispanic Leadership Network program, even though he told me in March of this year that the GOP cannot support legal immigration reform because it is simply not their priority. Fair enough, but given that, Latinos should not prioritize voting for the GOP.

The Republican Party can no longer claim to be pro-family, when over one million families have been forced apart or detained through their “attrition through enforcement” policies. It can no longer pride itself on pro-life views, since they attacked American-born baby rights via the 14th Amendment. It can no longer pride itself on jobs and the economy, because they are hurting the economy through their protectionism. Daniel Griswold from the CATO Institute told me that one low-skilled undocumented farm worker produces 3.1 middle income jobs to native born Americans via packaging, transportation and marketing. Since the passage of Georgia’s harsh anti-immigrant law, Georgia farmers have become desperate in their need to replace 11,000 farm workers who fled in mass exodus.

Read the rest here.

The National Tequila Party Movement is based out of Arizona — immigration ground zero, however, when the tequila party stopped in Kansas during the tour, they were not allowed to speak about immigration.  See video here.

From KWCH:

When the Tequila Party came to town last month, the goal was to register Latino voters and teach about immigration.  “We needed to raise the spirits of the Latin people,” said Tequila Party President DeeDee Garcia Blase. But that didn’t exactly happen.  Staff members at Nomar didn’t want immigration discussed.  “This is the number one issue and it’s directly personal to our culture, yet we could not talk about that at Nomar plaza,” Garcia Blase said.

Garcia Blase says the decision violated her right to free speech and she filed a complaint with the ACLU.    “I don’t think the taxpayer would appreciate the management violating rights that are sacred to American citizens,”she said.  The ACLU is now looking into the issue, as they do every complaint.  But a decision has not been made yet whether to pursue the case.

While taxpayers helped pay for the plaza, it’s not exactly public property.  The Nomar CDC leased it from the City of Wichita.  “Once you have a lease, they have control of the property.  That decision was theirs and we could not interfere,” said Wichita attorney Gary Rebenstdorf.  Technically in the lease agreement with the city, immigration could have been discussed at the plaza.  The only limits on speech in the lease are political issues facing the city council and immigration is not one of those issues. Rebenstdorf says it was up to Nomar but they could have asked the city for its opinion or allowed the immigration talk to happen.

See video here.

Many of our readers know that the National Tequila Party began in Arizona — immigration ground zero.   So far the Tequila Party is working on their 3rd rally while planning for dozens of other rallies continue in small and large markets.  They are focusing on the smaller markets first then to the larger metropolitan Hispanic cities as it gets closer to 2012 .  Momentum continues as the number of volunteers continue to increase and DREAM Act activists are engaged and given a microphone at their rallies to speak against the bad information that is out there about DREAM.

One of the goals of the Tequila Party in addition to a massive national Latin Get Out the Vote program is to push for immigrant and Latino-friendly politicians in 2012.  An immigration score card will be produced with heavy emphasis in high Hispanic populated states.  So far we have learned that the Nebraska Tequila Party has set their date for their Kick-off event for September the 18th – in Lincoln, Nebraska – more information to come as we learn more.

Most of the negative feedback the tequila party receives comes from Tea Party followers as they know the Tequila Party is a Latin / Mexican-American counter movement..  Almost 70% of the Latin population pie are of Mexican descent. There are a few critics of the movement who seem to be upset because the movement targets Latin groups who do not benefit from legal residency or the wet-foot-dry-foot unique amnesty.

As many of you might already know, Kansas was the state in which a GOP  representative — Virgil Peck advocated the shooting of undocumented immigrants like hogs from a helicopter. As a result of that statement, we are advocating and pushing for a strong Latin voter registration drives in numerous cities throughout Kansas.

We must empower ourselves and support a strong Latin get out the vote so that we can influence policy that affect our community.

Please share this flyer with your Kansas/Midwestern contacts.

The Tequila Party was launched in Tucson, Arizona out of the culture crisis we are currently experiencing here.

The next stop?   Wichita, Kansas.

Wichita, KS –The National Tequila Party Movement is happy to announce Dennis Romero as the Kansas Statewide Director.  Our first Tequila Party event is set for Jul 30, 2011 in Wichita, KS.   Dennis works with The Opinion Bilingual Kansas Newspaper, and for Azteka Amercia Spanish Television Network where he is heavily  involved in production and promotion.

Dennis Romero comes with considerable experience in helping our community.  He was a translator, involved in facilitating social and church groups in humanitarian endeavors, involved in building homes/schools, distributing clothing and food for the poor, and more.  Dennis has a call to take action within the Hispanic community within the United States and has participated in several Hispanic organizations in Kansas and in other parts of the nation.

Dennis knows and thoroughly understands that in order to change the policies that are important to Latinos, we must vote consistently in the primary elections as well as the general elections.

The immigration issue is extremely important and personal to Dennis because he has members that are stuck in limbo due to the broken immigration system.  He believes in “our shot to change” as we work on a national Latino get out the vote where over 21 million eligible and legal Hispanic voters will be able to vote in 2012.



Tea Party extremism tends to create an anti-immigrant hostile environment for the Republican Party.  These same Tea Party critics are criticizing the Tequila Party.  So there you go….if you are criticizing the National Tequila Party Movement…we will lump you in with the Tea Party extremists.

It’s easy to be a critic, but let’s watch you do better. And if you can do better — more power to you.  We want to see more coming of age Latin voters become consistent primary election voters.

For more information please visit www.nationaltequilapartymovement.com or tequilapartytour.com.