Thursday, August 11, 2005

Will the Dems Keep the RGV?

I was reading A Capitol Blog, Dos Centavos, and Rio Grande Valley Politics, today. There are some posts about the recent DNC Hispanic Summit held in San Antonio. Many of the recent news articles and blogs I have read are essentially saying the same thing:
We are losing Latinos to the Republicans because we no longer connect with them
and we don't give them positions of power within the party.

It's true. The Rio Grande Valley is Democrat territory. It's rare when a Republican can win an election, even when the Republican is Hispanic and the Democrat isn't. Since our area is so dependable in voting Democrat, we are pretty much ignored by campaigns. With the recent drift towards Republicans, the Dems are taking notice. Was it something they said? Nope. It's what they've done or failed to do.

What they are failing to see is that many of us are or want to be mainstream Americans. Many of our brothers, sisters, and children are over in Iraq and Afghanistan. You don't mess with family. High profile Dems, including Howard Dean, routinely tell us that we shouldn't be at war, it's all a mistake. Our poor soldiers are being sent against their will if you listen to the Dems. Yet, my sister is a volunteer. Her friends who went with her also volunteered. They went because they made that commitment and believe in defending our country. I don't like it when Dems say that she and her friends are stupid. They don't say it outright, but when they say that our soldiers are only in the military because they don't have education or job opportunities, they are implying that our Hispanic soldiers can't make an intelligent decision when they join the military. My sister was going to school at UTPA before she was deployed. What is more mainstream America than joining the military to help preserve our freedom?

Another way Dems are failing us is that we are mostly Catholic. Many Hispanics are therefore conservative. Sure, you have the occasional Hispanic that is pro-abortion and a proud supporter of gay marriage, and claims to be Catholic. These Hispanics say that just to sound sophisticated and try to fit in with their cool friends. The truth is, many of us don't support abortion, which the Democrats have a blood pact to defend and promote to the death (which the party is beginning to sense). They need to break that contract. With respect to gay marriage, Hispanics don't want it. We are generally tolerant of gay lifestyle unless it's in our face. It's like having a rich guy flaunt how good he has it daily by making it a point to come to you and show off every thing he has better than you. Rich jerks are generally despised. Humble rich people can be great friends. Same with the gay marriage issue. Go ahead and live together, have your civil unions, and have nice ceremonies. Just don't try to redefine marriage. The Dems keep promoting and defending the issue as much as abortion. By shoving this issue in our Catholic faces, they are not making points.

Did I mention that most Hispanics are Catholic? Well, we are. By putting down the Catholic church and taking God out of government and schools, the Dems are not making points.

The Dems can't claim to be championing our rights. Last I heard, Hispanics are now a majority in Texas. Yep, we outnumber the other minorities and the majority. What are the chances that we are going to be pushed around and discriminated? This isn't the 60s and 70s. It's time to change the playbook.

Immigration? Most of us don't care about "protecting" the rights of illegal immigrants. It's not up on our radar screen. The Republicans are dropping the ball here too. Don't listen to the few loud Hispanic groups that follow leftist ideals. Listen to us, mainstream Hispanics. Protect our country! But, since neither the Dems or Republicans want to mess with illegal immigration, this is a moot point.

Now that we Hispanics can't be ignored, and we are mainstream, we need the Dems to champion mainstream ideals. We poor Mexicans understand economic incentives and trade. We know that goverment programs cost us money. We know that if anybody tries to discriminate against us, the public won't stand for it and will drive them out of business or get them fired. I think that is the main problem. The Dems treat us as if we don't know any better like our previous generations of Hispanics. That needs to be understood by the Democratic leadership. If you spend all your time representing liberal groups that don't represent mainstream America, you don't represent us either. Hispanics are mainstream. Hispanics are Catholic. Hispanics are living the American dream. Hispanics ARE America. Treat us like Americans, not like your wards.

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