Latinos & the Tea Party Movement
Politician and contradiction are almost synonymous in today’s political field. Members and supporters of the Tea Party often espouse their love for a small government, liberty and freedom while simultaneously declaring “gay marriage” and “illegal immigration” the largest threats to America.
One doesn’t have to look far to find evidence of their anti-immigration attitude. An example lies in the failure of the DREAM Act to pass Senate scrutiny this past December. Had it passed, the DREAM Act would have allowed some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to gain legal status if they had entered the country when they were 15 or younger, graduated high school or obtained a GED, completed two years in the military or two years of college and endured a 10 year waiting period to get a green card. With votes largely along party lines, five Democrats and all but three Republicans voted against the measure. In doing so, they told undocumented immigrants, even those who have been in the United States since infancy that they will ship them off to a potentially unknown land instead of allowing them to legitimize their citizenship and remain in the country where they grew up.
Tea Party members also hosted a rally in Arizona along the U.S. and Mexico border in support of “SB 1070,” also known as the “Papers Please” bill, which drew controversy for giving authority to police to request proof of citizenship and detain those without such proof, as well as its real potential for racial profiling.
Because of their hard-line position for tightened immigration restrictions, accusations of racism and disregard for struggling families, one must ask, “Would any Latino voter support a Tea Party candidate?” Surprisingly, the answer is yes. George Rodríguez, a conservative Latino and Hispanic Tea Party Member is attempting to sway Hispanic voters toward the Tea Party stating, “We want to reach into the Hispanic community because, folks, we’re trying to show them that (a) We’re not racists, (b) We don’t have horns, and (c) We do have values that are very, very similar to them.”
But Tea Party members and supporters have shown that racism is a value in the center of their ranks. Here are a few examples of signs from various Tea Party rallies:
“The Zoo has an African [Obama] and the White House has a Lyin' African.”
“Jews are terrorists.”
“Undocumented worker [with image of Obama].”
“Cap Congress and Trade Obama Back to Kenya.”
“Obama - Your Massa on his new plantation!”
Another Latino initiative dubbed the “Tequila Party” and led by GOP operative Robert de Posada challenges Latino support of the Democrats, noting, “The Tequila Party is a great concept to basically say, 'You know what? This blind support for you is coming to an end.' If you are perceived as someone who will never vote for a Republican, then you're screwed,” adding that Democrats will take Hispanics for granted.
But not all Latinos are accepting of the position that the Tea Party is not racist but is pro-Latino. A Latino lead initiative by Cuéntame called “Immigrants for Sale,” challenges Latino support of the Tea Party and other attacks on immigration. The group has launched a campaign to expose Tea Party racism using video segments of Tea Party members and supporters spewing their anti-Latino, anti-immigrant sentiments, such as: “Immigrants are taking over the United States, they must be sent to where they came from.”
Tea Party member Rand Paul even took issue with the 1964 Civil Rights Act noting that private businesses should be allowed to discriminate against people based on their race, stating in part, “[I] don't want to limit their speech in any way.”
During her campaign for Senate, Sharron Angle, the Tea Party hopeful from Nevada, addressed a Hispanic high school group, stating, “So that's what we want is a secure and sovereign nation and, you know, I don't know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me.”
With the evidence weighing against Mr. Rodríguez’s claim that the Tea Party is not racist, he will likely have a hard time convincing Latinos to join his Hispanic Tea Party movement.
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