Hispanics hope to play big role in Obama administration (No Problem. More jobs being created)

Hispanics in swing states like Florida who boosted Barack Obama into the White House are now looking for a place at the table -- and within the Cabinet and federal agencies as well.

As the president-elect's transition team plows through stacks of résumés to fill almost 10,000 federal jobs -- from the high-profile secretary of state to the less glitzy director of the Office of Personnel Management -- Hispanic groups are mobilizing to ensure that the nation's fastest-growing electorate is well represented in the new executive branch.

''We're calling for an administration that looks like America,'' said Peter Zamora, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of two dozen Hispanic groups, is leading efforts to encourage Hispanics to apply for positions in the new administration. This week, the coalition urged Obama to name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson secretary of state.

The calls come in the wake of unprecedented Hispanic support for the Democratic presidential candidate: Nationwide, exit polls suggest Obama won the Hispanic vote over John McCain by more than a 2-to-1 margin -- a significant shift from 2004, when President Bush won just under 45 percent of the Hispanic vote.

''We're certainly hoping that President Obama's administration recognizes the importance of the Latino vote. They came out in a big way for him,'' said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

He noted that Hispanics now account for as much as 9 percent of the electorate and backed Hillary Clinton in many of the Democratic primaries.

Obama's Latino campaign director, Temo Figueroa, said he expects Hispanics to be well represented in the new administration, noting that former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, a Clinton Cabinet member, is one of 12 members of the advisory board that will help Obama choose his Cabinet.

Also on Obama's transition team reviewing résumés is Frank Sanchez, a Tampa business consultant and Obama advisor on Latin America and Hispanic outreach. And said to be in the mix for a position: Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.

''Hispanics flexed their political muscle this time around, and I fully trust that Barack Obama will have a very inclusive administration,'' said Ana Cruz, a Tampa Democratic strategist who cited Sanchez's position as proof. ``They won't ignore the electorate that secured them a margin of victory.''

Obama's transition co-chairman, John Podesta, said in a briefing with reporters this week that ''excellence is the first criteria for all of these people coming into government.'' But, he added, ``as long as we keep our eye on the ball [the administration] can balance geographical diversity, racial diversity, gender.''

Though the Hispanic groups are targeting high-profile Cabinet positions like secretary of state, Wilkes said they are just as interested in more obscure agencies like the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees hiring at many federal agencies.

A federal report earlier this year found that though the percentage of Hispanics in the federal work force has increased in the past decade, Hispanics are still underrepresented in federal jobs.

Other targeted departments: Education and Homeland Security, which oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Obama has also proposed creating an Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for American cities -- something he raised in a June speech before the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami.

''It's easy to focus on a limited number of Cabinet seats, but there are positions with significant import up and down the spectrum,'' Zamora said.

There's also a push locally by advocacy groups including the Cuban American Bar Association, which hopes to send the fledgling administration a list of potential job candidates. The association is hoping, for example, that a Hispanic candidate succeeds Alex Acosta, the outgoing U.S. attorney in Miami.

'I don't think anyone is bold enough to say `it's payback time.' That's not the way it works,'' said Miami attorney Roland Sanchez-Medina, the bar association's incoming president.

``We were all working together to elect Obama, and we know we have an individual in office who hears our issues, our concerns. It's not that there's a quid pro quo, but if opportunities exist we will certainly push our people to key positions.''

Hispanics in swing states like Florida who boosted Barack Obama into the White House are now looking for a place at the table -- and within the Cabinet and federal agencies as well.

No problemo, amigos!

More jobs are being created even as this is being read.

In the past twelve months government has created 400,000 new jobs. All of them in the government.

Who said government doesn't create jobs?

Tell again how race has nothing to do with anything?

It is only evil whites who are the "haters" that care about race...

Main Entry: pat·sy

Pronunciation: \ˈpat-sē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural pat·sies

Etymology: perhaps from Italian pazzo fool

Date: 1903

: a person who is easily manipulated or victimized : pushover

And John McCain and the liberal RINOs want to continue to pander to Hispanics thru Illegal Alien Amnesty....

Agreed, but WE have got to be sensible about unlawful entry into the USofA.

If you have a "plan" then send it to McCain or your own CongressCritters and ask them to put your ideas and others into a workable unlawful entry Bill.

Base it on Mexico's Requirements. Quote chapter and verse.

Human Events May 2006 http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14632
Mexico, which annually deports more illegal aliens than the United States does, has much to teach us about how it handles the immigration issue. Under Mexican law, it is a felony to be an illegal alien in Mexico.

At a time when the Supreme Court and many politicians seek to bring American law in line with foreign legal norms, it’s noteworthy that nobody has argued that the U.S. look at how Mexico deals with immigration and what it might teach us about how best to solve our illegal immigration problem. Mexico has a single, streamlined law that ensures that foreign visitors and immigrants are:

* in the country legally;
* have the means to sustain themselves economically;
* not destined to be burdens on society;
* of economic and social benefit to society;
* of good character and have no criminal records; and
* contributors to the general well-being of the nation.

The law also ensures that:
* immigration authorities have a record of each foreign visitor;
* foreign visitors do not violate their visa status;
* foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics;
* foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported;
* foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported;
* those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison.

Who could disagree with such a law? It makes perfect sense. The Mexican constitution strictly defines the rights of citizens -- and the denial of many fundamental rights to non-citizens, illegal and illegal. Under the constitution, the Ley General de Población, or General Law on Population, spells out specifically the country's immigration policy.

They have a PERFECTLY GOOD LAW, why can't we appropriate it?

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