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Latino Voters Consider Forming Their Own Political Party

By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Dec 1st 2010 8:32AM
Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights

Comments (16)

Tequila Party, Latino Voters Consider Forming Their Own Political Party

In Nevada, the Latino community is talking big about political change. Members are looking the Democratic Party square in the eye and letting politicians know that they may be jumping ship. More specifically, Hispanic leadership is discussing the possibility of creating a grassroots movement, tentatively called "The Tequila Party," designed to ensure that their interests are put in the forefront of political discussion.

Part of the resentment of Latino voters in Nevada stems from Sen. Harry Reid's promise to push for the DREAM Act, which would allow young people brought in to the country illegally to gain citizenship by either serving in the military or going to college. Since that time, both Democratic and Republican support for the bill has diminished, and Reid has not been able to keep his promise.

Some Latino voters are openly admitting that their source of inspiration was the Tea Party Movement, which gained traction across the United States. Tea Party members also supported tough legislation in Arizona that affected the lives of countless Hispanic citizens in the state.

This led some Latino leaders to acknowledge that something should be done to counter the Tea Partiers and its aggressive agenda. One of the most important initiatives of Latino political involvement is comprehensive immigration reform. To date, roughly 85 percent of Hispanics support such measures.

One of the great tests for the Democratic Party is whether it can deliver on comprehensive immigration reform. If they do not, some believe that this will make Latino voters even more steadfast about creating their own party.

Hispanics currently make up 16 percent of the U.S. population. They are, therefore, the largest ethnic minority in this country -- and the owners of significant political power.

Also true is that if they are able to legalize many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, this would further bolster their impressive political might. Roughly 80 percent of all illegal immigrants in the United States are believed to come from Latin American countries, with 60 percent coming from Mexico.

African Americans would be wise to take notes from these discussions within the Latino community. Black people have been long frustrated by the fact that Democrats have failed to deliver for our community for a very long time. We are typically taken for granted as Democratic voters, and our issues are pushed to the back burner.

Rather than simply trying to emulate the work being done in the Tea Party Movement, we might be wise to at least consider joining forces with the Hispanic community to find ways to promote our common interests.

Oh, yeah, I hope they change the name from Tequila Party to something else. The last thing we need to do is promote another stereotype. The serious nature of major political movements should preclude us from naming a political party after an alcoholic beverage.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.

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