Posted on 06/25/2007 4:35:52 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
TAMPA - When 1,000 Hispanic elected officials and community leaders from across the country gather in Orlando later this week, they'll hear from seven major Democratic candidates for president, but none of the major Republican candidates.
All of the GOP candidates except dark horse Duncan Hunter declined invitations to appear at this year's annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, or NALEO.
Even Arizona Sen. John McCain, a hero to some Hispanics because of his stance on immigration reform, won't be there.
Democrats are portraying that as a snub of Hispanics by the GOP candidates.
"Republicans Giving Up On Latinos" was the headline on a Democratic Party news release about the event. The release called it a "sign of conceding the Latino vote in Florida to Democrats," and noted that in 2006 Democrats won the Florida Hispanic vote for the first time in 30 years.
Leaders of the association say they're disappointed.
But some Florida Republicans, who acknowledge they would prefer that their candidates show up, scoff at the idea that GOP-oriented Florida Hispanic voters suddenly have converted or that the presidential candidates are giving up on them.
The reason the candidates aren't coming, said state Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, is that NALEO, even though it's nonpartisan, "absolutely is a Democratic-oriented organization - just because most Hispanic elected officials outside Florida are Democrats."
Rivera said he still would encourage Republicans to attend: "There's a case to be made for stating your position in a hostile environment."
He said a mostly Democratic gathering isn't a great place for a Republican to find support in a presidential primary, though.
Another Miami Republican state legislator, Rep. Juan Zapata, a board member of NALEO and chairman of the state's host committee for the conference, has lobbied for three years to hold the conference in Florida.
"To go through all that and then see all the Republican candidates are a no-show, it's a huge loss for the Republicans," Zapata said.
Zapata said the Democratic orientation of most Hispanic political figures "is not going to change if the Republicans don't engage."
Florida Has Unique Demographics The issue emphasizes the demographic differences between Hispanics in Florida and those elsewhere.
In Florida, Republican-leaning anti-Castro Cubans have long dominated Hispanic politics, and most big-name Hispanic politicians are Republican, including Sen. Mel Martinez and state House Speaker Marco Rubio, both speaking at the conference.
Hispanic communities in other states are made up of more residents from Central and South America and Puerto Rico, and leaders are more likely to be Democrats.
Arturo Vargas, executive director of NALEO, acknowledged that most of the group's members are Democrats, but denied the organization was Democratic-oriented.
"The strength of NALEO is that when they come to our events, they leave their party registration outside the door," he said.
Vargas said NALEO's president, former Pontiac, Mich., official John Bueno, is a Republican, as are four other members of its 20-member board.
Only about a tenth of the Latino elected officials who are NALEO members hold partisan offices, Vargas said, which means it's difficult to determine the membership's party breakdown.
Vargas said invitations went out in January, and the Republican presidential candidates who were invited - Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, McCain, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Tommy Thompson - cited scheduling conflicts or prior commitments in declining.
"We know scheduling is a matter of priorities," he said. "This clearly sends a message that Latino elected officials are not a priority for the candidates."
Representatives for the leading Republican candidates denied that.
"It's nothing like that from us," said Giuliani spokesman Elliott Bundy, noting that his candidate will meet with Hispanic supporters Thursday night at a Hialeah restaurant.
A spokesman for McCain, Danny Diaz, said the senator likely would be welcomed at the conference because of his work on immigration.
"It would be hard to say he's ducking the Hispanic audience," Diaz said, noting that McCain chose Miami as the site of a major speech on immigration recently.
Romney's Hispanic outreach spokesman, Alex Burgos, himself from Miami's Cuban community, said Romney "chose to honor a prior commitment" for a dinner in Iowa. He said Romney "has campaigned among Florida Hispanic voters and counts on the support of an impressive group of national Hispanic leaders."
Good of Hunter to presume the best about his audience, and if it turns out he held them in overly high esteem, they can correct him by their response. One hopes he isn't disillusioned.
An encouraging item: on yesterday's This Week with George Stephanopolous, Duncan Hunter received some attention during George S.'s interview with Sen. Kennedy: George S. showed the clip of Hunter at the debate describing the few GOP'frontrunners' as being of the 'Kennedy wing of the party' and advising GOP voters to move away from it. Hunter looked good in the clip, and Kennedy didn't seem to have a response as apparently none had been scripted for him by his staff/caretakers.
Hunter will get national press because he’s the only Republican there. He will be receive some boos and will be gracious. I’m guessing the MSM will only show the boos.
Walking into the lion’s den.
Should make for some interesting quotes!
And even better film footage!
I can’t believe none of the others are going. Whether the media shows the boos or not, he will get a lot of positive press just for showing up.
“Hispanic communities in other states are made up of more residents from Central and South America and Puerto Rico, and leaders are more likely to be Democrats.”
Double the reasoning for DEPORTING them!
There is a one way street on ethnic identification - whites need not apply. How much credibility would a National Association of White Elected Officials
get? It would be considered a racist organization, right?
So how should we treat this organization then?
How can this double-standard point be raised without firing up the dragons of political correctness?
Ann Coulter just did a GREAT job on GMA...mentioning Duncan Hunter as her FAV!
Maybe he’s figured out that most legal “Hispanics” are against illegal immigration, too!
how much does mnesty play into this agenda ...
“Empowering Immigrant Communities through U.S. Citizenship”
bttt
Looks like there is a Saturday session, so it is possible.
To tell the truth and be honest.
I wouldn't recommend going there for him, from a public perspective point of view, it looks desperate, but I know he won't pander, and I know he won't coddle, or waver.
Maybe they'll appreciate his honesty, but more likely, they'll jut boo him.
Never let it be said he lacks guts, but campaign wise, this isn't a good move for him.
I hope that Mel is fired from the RNC. Then the GOP can start to rebuild what they once were.
Interesting. So Mel Martinez is all that stands between the Republican party and "what they once were"?
In Vietnam, this guy would walk point on patrols with the 173rd and later a Ranger outfit. These people offer no danger to him.
Hunter isn’t planning anything, I would bet. The man has courage.
Hunter isn’t planning anything, I would bet. The man has courage.
Correct; there a millions of “Hispanics” who think of themselves only as Americans. The hyphen was thrown out a long time ago; those are the folks we need to go after. Let the hyphenated Americans vote liberal.
Sorry for the double play.
“Especially considering that none of the other Republicans accepted an invitation, while all of the Dems are coming...”
I don’t think, other than Tancredo, that there is another Republican candidate as tough on this issue as Hunter...maybe the others just didn’t want to get caught pandering, like the dems. Even if they could get away with ‘blaming’ the need for border security on terrorism, these candidates KNOW where the American public stand. Answering questions about what they would do with the illegals already here, would be tough...and very telling.
good point.
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