Presidential Candidates on the Mini-Latino Voter Tour

Candidates Obama and McCain are gearing up to do what the mainstream media is touting as a “mini-Latino voter tour” that includes speeches at the LULAC Convention today and speeches at the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) convention in San Diego next week.

For discussion’s sake, let’s do as the mainstream media does and forget that the voice of LULAC is but one very well-funded voice in a cacophony made up of more than 40 million Latino voices and thousands of Latino organizations in the U.S. And, in the name of being part of this often inane (as in anybody seen that political Chupacabra – the widely-reported Latino unwillingness to vote for a black candidat e- lately?) conversation labeled “Latino politics”, let’s also ignore that lurking beneath that brown blob of a media construct called “Hispanics” in headlines and sound bites are inconvenient truths; Inconvenient truths like the fact that organizations like LULAC do not always speak for many, if not most, of us, when, for example, leaders like NCLR’s Janet Murguia or LULAC’s Ray Velarde gushed with support for disgraced former Attorney General and war criminal Alberto Gonzales.”*

• LULAC leader says new Arlington school should be named for Cesar Chavez
• Lizette Olmos, LULAC and MillerCoors Lideres Campaign – she needs your help to win
• Carmen Ortiz has been confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, becoming the first Hispanic and the first woman to hold the state’s top federal prosecutor’s job.
• A Victory in the Senate with the Halt of the Vitter Amendment – LULAC
• Latino Families’ Fight for Banking Reform
• Immigrant Jail Tests U.S. View of Legal Access – City Bar Justice Center is calling for all immigrant detainees to be provided with counsel.
• Questions Surrounding Dobbs’ Gunfire Incident Cast Doubt on CNN’s Credibility
• LULAC Hails the Inclusion of Puerto Rico in the House Healthcare Bill
• Yum! Brands Sponsors New LULAC Youth Website
• Latino Leaders Launch National Campaign for Healthcare Reform – New website unveiled today will educate and mobilize community on healthcare reform.
• An Entire Generation at Stake – By 2030, Latino children will make up half of the U.S. child population living in poverty.
• Passage of Hate Crimes Bill Signals a New Day for Justice, Says NCLR
• National Council of La Raza: Groundbreaking Forum on Latino Children Offers Solutions to the Challenges Faced by this Growing Community
• BS&F Partner and ABA President-Elect Stephen N. Zack Named to HISPANIC BUSINESS Magazine’s Top 100 Influentials 2009 List
• BastaDobbs Responds to Invite from Lou Dobbs
• Interview/Entrevista with Roberto Lovato about National Campaign Against CNN’s Lou Dobbs
• National Latino Congreso Issues Call to Action – Action Plans Will be Launched on Justice for Immigrants, Climate Change, Saving Homes, and Creating Jobs during Jan. 2010 National Latino Congreso in El Paso, Texas
• HEALTH CARE BILL OVERCOMES EXTREMIST POLITICS, BUT STILL NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, SAYS NCLR
• Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), a 2008 Republican presidential candidate and fierce opponent of illegal immigration, is criticizing the nomination of Stephanie Villafuerte for District of Colorado U.S. Attorney.
• Latino Youth Adopt Health Care Reform Priorities at the 2009 LULAC Washington Youth Leadership Seminar