Understanding Ted Cruz – A Fellow Cuban-Texan Explains the Rising GOP Star
Columnist Jack Tomas disagrees with most of what Texas U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz stands for. Yet he feels a certain kinship to his fellow Cuban-Texan.
Tag: Republicans
De Leon: Romney is Out of Touch With Voters on Immigration
According to the latest Gallup poll, only three percent of Americans say immigration is the most important problem facing the country today, but candidate Mitt Romney insists on making his stance ultra-conservative. Is that the direction he should be taking the GOP?
Block on Payroll Tax Cut Means GOP Hands Latino Vote to Dems. (Again.)
A paycheck for zero dollars. (Photo: Jima/flickr)
Stalled in Congress is a bill which extends the payroll tax cut for two months, thanks to the intransigence of a handful of House GOP freshmen. If the measure is not passed by the end of the year, 160 million of us will see our paychecks cut by an average of $40. Those among us who access Medicare and unemployment benefits will also suffer greatly.
Among the millions who will have less money to survive on are Latinos and other immigrants who are here legally or are naturalized citizens. Many will be voting come November and rest assured, they will have immigration and bread and butter issues on their minds.
Latinos are the poorest according to the Census’ Supplemental Poverty Measure. Over six million Latino children, more than any other group, are living in poverty. The net worth of Latino families shrank the most during the Great Recession. The payroll tax cut, which may seem paltry to wealthy lawmakers, makes a huge difference to struggling families.
Rational conservatives are lambasting their mulish comrades. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board warns that if this impasse is not breached, Republicans might as well gird themselves for a second Obama term. Even some GOP senators who fear losing their seats next November have spoken out against their counterparts in the lower chamber.
If they’d like a chance of winning any Latino votes in 2012, House Republicans should heed these warnings.
More than 6.6 million Latinos – about seven percent of all voters – voted in last year’s midterm elections. Many more are expected to turn out for next year’s presidential and general elections. Who do you think they will vote for?
You can follow Erwin de Leon on Twitter or read his blog.
Feet in Two Worlds is supported by the New York Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with additional support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the Sirus Fund. Feet in Two Worlds podcasts are supported in part by WNYC, New York Public Radio.
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Stories
“Arab” vs. “Decent”: Arab-Americans Reacting to McCain’s Words in Minnesota
There are at least 3.5 million Americans of Arab descent. Those who are following the presidential race cannot be happy with the latest news from the McCain campaign.
In a scene that will be replayed on YouTube and cable news through the weekend, Gayle Quinnell, an elderly female Republican supporter at a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, tells John McCain that Barack Obama is “an Arab” when questioning the Democrat’s fitness to lead the country.
McCain, as you can see in the video, snatches the microphone from her hand and counters: “No ma’am, no ma’am, he’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that’s what this campaign is all about. He’s not. Thank you.”
The video also includes a post-rally interview with Quinnell. According to The Uptake.org, the reporters present were Noah Kunin, The UpTake’s senior political correspondent, Adam Aigner of NBC News and Dana Bash of CNN. [The interview was taped with a cellphone camera in a noisy place, but a full transcript is available at The Uptake link above.]
Quinnell, who’s 75 years old, said she obtained information on Obama from the Shakopee, Minn., local library and from another Republican volunteer at a McCain campaign office. She added she’s sent out 400 copies of a letter containing that information to local people so they can decide “if they would want Obama.”
When asked why she thinks Obama is Arab, Quinnell answers “because his dad is.” When CNN’s Dana Bash interjects that Barack Obama’s father was in fact a Muslim, Quinnell seems a bit confused about the terms. She finally says, “Yeah, but he’s still got Muslim in him. So that’s still part of him. I got all the stuff from the library and I could send you all kinds of stuff on him.”