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 Guardian where you can read the entire story here:

 

How Latino voters will choose in 2012

<snip>

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.

<snip>

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.

Maybe the reasonable thinking Republican will take heed to this note in order to retain the shrinking Latino Republican support we are witnessing.

I recently learned that 22 Democratic Senators wrote a letter to the President with regard to the DREAM Act.  This is good and a step in the right direction, however, it is also depressing for me in the sense that I see the Republican Party losing on this front.  It used to be that the Republicans were the ones who championed the DREAM, and now we see the Democratic Senators taking up this issue. Not only that, our only Latino Republican Senator Marco Rubio, has opposed the DREAM Act, too.

I can assure you that this move is a political move by the Democratic Senators to maintain their power in the Senate because Republicans are focused on the Senate seats, too.  They know they will have to provide a 2012 Presidential Candidate that will be able to raise over $550,000.00 per day, and I’m afraid it will be hard for the Republican Party to find a candidate that can raise that much money.  Since it is going to be very hard to find a Presidential Candidate that has the ability to raise the money that Obama can, the GOP will put their emphasis and their energy on the Senate in an effort to further limit Obama’s presidency.

We know that the anti-SB 1070 Latinos (which accounts for most of us) will not really risk their votes with Republicans unless those Republican candidates have proven themselves to our community such as Senator Lugar of Indiana.

I only hope that these 22 Senators will not get the hopes of our youth high only to see the same thing we saw in December 2010. In fact, I am told that Senator Scott Brown will not support the DREAM Act because DREAMers rallied at his office.  I sincerely hope Mr. Brown changes his mind, and even though I wouldn’t necessarily spend my energy in protests, he should realize that these kids and our youth are desperate and are stuck in limbo.  We should never advocate punishing children for the sins of their father.

I noticed that Senator Harry Reid was the first person to sign the DREAM Act letter to President, and he remembers who saved his political career when he promised to put the DREAM Act on the floor.  Of course, the Tea Party extremist — Sharron Angle depicted Latinos in  negative light, too, and it ultimately cost her the elections because she thought she didn’t need the Latino vote.

It has come to our attention the Department of Homeland Security sent Prerna Lal – one of the founders of “Dream Activist” – a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings.  We can only ask the Obama administration to use their prosecutorial discretion and not deport this DREAMer.  Why was this individual targeted?

In order for the Republicans to gain back the Latino Republican share that Bush had in 2004 when he received 44% of the Latino vote, they must do more than ‘tone down the anti-immigration rhetoric’.  They must show in their actions that they want to fix the broken immigration system.

In the internet age we live in, Latinos are becoming more and more aware of our political environment.

Please read the Senator Harry Reid DREAM Act Letter.

Republicans need to be concerned about losing the future GOP vote with legal and eligible Latino voters that are becoming of age in light of our explosive growth.

www.somosrepublicans.com

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