Maria Elena Salinas

Introducing her book
"I am my father's daughter"

THE DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE EN ESPAÑOL

Written by Maria Elena Salinas
Tuesday, January 27 2004

If you were not tuned in to Spanish-language media after the State of the Union Address, you missed it. You missed the first-ever Democratic response en español. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico delivered a speech that not only was in Spanish, but was tailor-made for Hispanic voters -- because, as Mr. Richardson pointed out, "the upcoming presidential election affects us (Hispanics) more than ever." During his TV address, Richardson, whose Spanish is close to perfect, told viewers that most people in America think that the only issues that interest Hispanics are immigration and civil rights. Wrong, he said. "We also care about conventional issues such as health care, education, economic growth and foreign policy, like the war in Iraq." While Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Tom Daschle were reminding the American people that more than 2 million jobs have been lost since Mr. Bush went into office, Richardson emphasized the 300,000 Hispanics who have lost their jobs in the past three years. While there are 42 million Americans without access to health care, 18 million of them are Hispanic. Richardson also criticized Bush's immigration proposal. He acknowledged that it has some positive aspects, but he said it does not help workers obtain their ultimate goal of legalizing their status. "Instead of putting immigrants on the road to a better life, it puts them on a dead-end street," Richardson said. About the young Hispanic soldiers who are in Iraq, and those who have given their lives for this country, New Mexico's governor said, "The least that we can do for them is give them citizenship, or help them legalize their status." No doubt that it's important for the only Hispanic governor in the country to remind Latinos of the issues that affect them and where his party stands on those issues, but the most significant part of his speech was his assessment that Hispanic voters can decide who wins the presidency of the United States. In the past four years, the political landscape has changed -- Latinos are no longer concentrated in a few states, and they have become an electoral force in several nontraditional states such as Nevada, Colorado and Michigan, to name a few. In a tight race, Latinos can and will be an important swing vote. According to new data compiled by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, 26 percent of voting-age Latinos are concentrated in 19 battleground states. That is why, as Richardson pointed out, both Democrats and Republicans are "paying attention to us," but if we do not participate in the electoral process, we will be ignored. He should know that after years of taking the Hispanic vote for granted, Democrats are going full-throttle. Last September, they held the first-ever bilingual debate focusing on Hispanic issues, and now the first-ever response to the State of the Union speech in Spanish. Democrats know they cannot afford to rest on their laurels. During the '70s and '80s, seven out of 10 Hispanics declared themselves Democrats, but Latino partisanship has changed. Now, the Hispanic vote is up for grabs, and both parties are courting a once-ignored segment of the electorate. In short, the race is on, and may the best party win the Latino vote. Footnote: There is something about President Bush's immigration proposal that has me a bit confused. In less than 10 days, I heard President Bush talk about his proposal, and while the particulars of the plan have not changed, the tone in which he presents them seems to adjust to the audience. In Mexico, he praised Mexican workers for their contributions to the United States, while in his State of the Union speech, he barely mentioned them. Also, Mr. Bush says he opposes amnesty because it would unfairly reward those who break the law. At the same time, he proposes temporary work permits for the same people. Am I the only one who sees a contradiction here?