Latino Republicans leaving the Party? [krakatoa]

With the resignation of Mel Martinez, the AP indicates that other Republican Latinos such as US Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balat are threatening to take their ball and go home.

"Republicans have to be able to get the Hispanic community to focus on issues where Republicans have the right solutions—and these are critical issues: the economy being number one," he said...

"What they see on television is a local or a state official speaking very negatively about immigrants and then what they see is that that person is Republican," said Diaz-Balart, who like Martinez supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

This is echoed by Rev Samuel Rodriguez, who the article says represents some 25000 Hispanic evangelical churches as the leader of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

"In the vast majority of their values, this party resonates with who I am—except they don't want me."

Nothing could be further from the truth, Rev Rodriquez. We would love your support and your vote. What we don't want is to sublimate one of the fundamental planks of conservatism, The Rule of Law applied to all equally, to pander to you or any other group.

You and your cohorts in this cause have decided that the long-standing Immigration Laws of this nation should not apply to your single-issue. And to increase the pressure on the party you claim represents your views on a "vast majority" of issues, you threaten to leave that party and then what? Join the party that ostensibly only agrees with you on one or two issues?

Why, if your cause is so strong, do you feel the need to miscast our resistance to it as us being against Immigrants? How many times must we say "No, we love Immigrants. It is Illegal Immigrants who are the issue." Why do you feel the need to poison the Legal Immigrant well with your mischaracterizations?

If you believe we are right on so many issues, especially the economy, why do you dismiss out of hand our economic rationale against yet another amnesty?

Republican resistance to the approval of Judge Sotomayor is also referenced a a cause for losing Latino support.

Why would a Republican abhorrance to the idea of Sotomayor wearing Supreme Court robes based solely on her questionably judicial record, her association with racist groups such as La Raza, and her oft-repeated belief in the intellectual superiority of a "Wise Latina" be a negative the minds of Latinos?

At the very least, we should expect a draw on the issue given how strenuously we argued for Estrada, only to see his nomination be torpedoed by the Democrats on the weakest of grounds. Instead we see Martinez ignoring her judicial record and claiming that view never found its way into her opinions. Mel: Accepting for the sake of argument that is true, isn't it enough that her opinions were poorly reasoned and sourced, leading to reversals in higher courts?

These aren't the sorts of points made by someone with the truth on their side and wishing a reasoned debate, but by someone who wishes to browbeat the opposition with threats of racism until they finally accept a flimsy argument.

Diaz-Balart, Rev. Rodrguez, Mel Martinez - when you sublimate the facts of the issue in deference to emotional appeals, you take on the appearance of race hustlers of the lowest sort, trading in misrepresentations and baseless accusations to advance the cause of Latino Illegal Immigration at the expense of the GOP, legal tax-paying U.S. citizens in general, and most egregiously, all those Immigrants who have and are following the legal path to citizenship. Let alone leading into the wilderness your ethnic followers who trust your representation of the facts.

Reverand Rodriguez has drawn his line in the sand. He can support us on a vast majority of issues, but unless we apologize for the words he put into our mouths and pander to his single issue, apprarently is ready to lead his flock out of the fold.

"I can tell you firsthand the Latino outreach on behalf of the Republican party is nil," he said. "The Republican Party has one incredible hill to climb. So my question is what are they waiting for?"

Sir, we are waiting for you to make your case to us in reasoned discourse and in a well-considered debate. You may not convince us, but in making the attempt you may come to accept the wisdom in the concept of laws applying equally to all citizens.

If you and your fellow travelers wish to appeal to the rest of your party on this issue, you must first find and accept the answer to the following question:

Does the GOP support Legal Immigration?

posted by xgenghisx at 12:46 PM

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