Is George Rodriguez, head of a Tea Party faction in San Antonio, Texas, with many Latino members, on to something?
Will Latinos be more accepting of the ideological tone of the Republican Party if it is described to them as “conservative,” rather than as “Republican?”
IT SOUNDS FAR-FETCHED to me. But Rodriguez is standing by it. He used a conference of the Texas Public Policy Foundation to try to advise his fellow Republican-types how they can reach out to the Latino vote without having to temper the tone of any of their rhetoric.
Even though I’d argue the real solution is to temper the rhetorical tone so as to be more respectful of people. Someone who shows my ethnic brethren no respect sure isn’t about to get mine.
But some of my ethnic brethren seem determined to try to mix themselves into a group whose talk would seem to indicate they’re not truly wanted.
Which is why Rodriguez’ message last week warranted some national news coverage. The Reuters wire service has a story out of Austin, Texas under the headline, “Say ‘conservative’ not ‘Republican’ to woo Latinos: Tea Party.”
ON FIRST GLANCE, I don’t buy into it.
If anything, it reinforces the idea that the Republican Party has managed to tag itself as the opposition political party among the fast-growing Latino population.
It almost is like Rodriguez doesn’t want us to realize that the GOP to which he and his followers want to be faithful has a serious problem. He’d rather try to put a cutesy label on it, rather than make the political party truly acceptable to the interests of Latinos.
Which wouldn’t be impossible to do. Because way too many Latinos are “Democrats by default.” It is becoming more and more clear that many of us are going to vote, once again, for Barack Obama to be president – because of the fact that we can’t stand the thought of ANY of the GOP dreamers currently running in the primary elections.
WE’RE VOTING AGAINST the Republican Party (just as we did by a 2-1 ratio in 2008 against John McCain), rather than for anything. Because apathy seems better to us than hostility.
Which is why Rodriguez is correct when he told that gathering of Texas ideologues, “whenever the word ‘Republican’ is used, it was almost like an automatic wall that falls.”
But the idea that pushing the label “conservative” down our collective throat will make any difference is just silly. How clueless do these people believe the Latino electorate is?
I’d say that Rodriguez’ suggestion is the equivalent of painting that “automatic wall” a new color (I’m sure the nitwits among the ideologues will joke that we’ll cover it in graffiti), rather than taking a sledgehammer to the wall to knock it down.
IF ANYTHING, I do believe many of my ethnic brethren would love to be able to do a symbolic number equivalent to what happened to the Berlin Wall of old – smash it to pieces so that we’re welcome all the way around. Just like, someday, we’re likely to do with those barricades being built in the desert that separates this country from Mexico.
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| Berlin Wall. Photograph provided by Silkstreet |
That isn’t the case now. And it won’t be the case until there are some serious attitude changes – none of which are on the scene for the 2012 election cycle.
So my snide and snotty headline on this commentary was intended to be a response to the wire service dispatch headline written by Reuters.
Because no matter how much the GOP "package" gets wrapped in glossy paper, something about it still smells foul.
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