Posted on 06/02/2005 8:59:49 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa got rock-star treatment Wednesday on his first trip to the nation's capital since his stunning election victory.
In between standing ovations and signing autographs at a series of speeches, the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century told a liberal organization that Democrats are not succeeding nationally because their ranks are too homogeneous.
"We need to look long and hard within our movement. You look around this room, and you don't see the kind of diversity we need," Villaraigosa told a mostly white audience at a Campaign for America's Future event.
In his speech kicking off the group's three-day conference with "Take back America" as its theme, Villaraigosa criticized Democrats for not doing enough to promote economic development in cities. He said bringing different groups together was the key to his recent electoral victory, and he said it also should be the Democrats' key.
"It wasn't a Latino victory. It wasn't about Latino power. It was about building a coalition. If we're going to be successful, we can't just talk at people. We have to listen, too."
The daylong trip included a two-hour meeting with Los Angeles city lobbyists to discuss federal funding for homeland security and new ways to yank money out of Washington for the region, as well as his opposition to airport expansion.
Villaraigosa did not make any "Collectinator" promises like those of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger, before taking office, came to Washington and vowed that his action-hero alter ego, "The Terminator," would demand and soon get significantly more federal funding than his predecessor got for California.
Instead, Villaraigosa spoke of starting a "new relationship" between Los Angeles and Washington. Under his leadership, he said, the city will fashion a lobbying blitz called L.A. Day. Both New York and Chicago sponsor massive lobbying trips.
"I want to be as aggressive as New York and Chicago are," he said. He declined to say if he believed Los Angeles received its fair share from Washington under outgoing Mayor James Hahn.
"I think I've made my position known on that. I'm looking to the future."
City Council President Alex Padilla, who also attended the meeting, said it was "a never-ending challenge" getting money from the feds for Los Angeles.
But noting that several members of the state's congressional delegation had served with Villaraigosa in the California Legislature, Padilla added, "I do think Antonio will be more effective than previous mayors."
" signing autographs"
Huh??? Only in wacko Cali!!
Your right he is already advocating open borders.
***Democrats are not succeeding nationally because their ranks are too homogeneous. ****
Oh yes!
I love it when I see the libs led down the primrose path to even more defeat.
Uh...he's signing autographs in Washington DC in this article.
I have been reading a lot of posts by Bush haters at other sites, and I have come to the conclusion that the problem with the Democratic Party is that it contains idiots who are irrational and full of hate. They also have no real sense of what is going on in the World, preferring to believe every anti-Bush cliche they hear.
No amount of "diversity" is going to remedy what's wrong with the Democratic Party.
Shoulda been a "Barf Alert"! lol!
La Raza is as dangerous to the U.S. as Bin Laden.
There, I said it.
Hehhehehe...I skipped the rest of the article when I glanced at the "signing autographs"..me bad! :)
But of course. .....they're all on the same open-borders bandwagon.
Hillary , Villaraigosa viva 08
The new Demorat Party Symbol must be "The Village People."
("It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A, it's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A ...")
Take Back America 2005: Conference Agenda
The National Launching of Cities Progress Network - the first comprehensive network of progressive local elected officials and activists - will take place on Wednesday, June 1st at 12:30pm at the Washington Hilton (room TBD). All Take Back America attendees are encouraged to attend. Sign up for Progressive Majority's Campaign Trainings and get trained in campaign skills building, base vote mobilization, and issues in campaign politics.
Robert Borosage, Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future: The Failure of the Right and the Progressive Promise
Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor-elect, City of Los Angeles: We Stand for One America [Labor Leader, Reformer, CA Assembly Speaker, LA City Council Member, IAF Board Member, the Mayor-elect of Los Angeles]
Donna Brazile, Managing Director, Brazile & Assoc: Mobilizing and Persuading the Base
Eli Pariser, Executive Director, MoveOn.org: Citizen Power: Breaking Money Politics and Building from the Bottom Up
Martha Burk [Hootie Johnson's favorite feminist]: Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done About It
Paul Wellstone Citizen Leadership Award Presented By: Reg Weaver, President, NEA
Howard Dean: We Have the Power
Arianna Huffington: The Most Corrupt Congress: Time to Clean the Stables
Wade Rathke, Founder/Chief Organizer, ACORN: Empowering Communities to Challenge Wal-Mart
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
SNIP
Your apparently just as dellusional too.
LaRaza is a bunch of racist, no doubt, but I don't see them flying planes into buildings.
Perhaps building a coalition between Los Angeles and the ground underneath would be a good start.
His speech is here:
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050602/the_unity_mayor.php
It includes this:
"...take a snapshot of Los Angeles and in 25 or 30 years so will go Topeka, Kansas and Des Moines, Iowa..."
Consider that an answer to all the people who repond with indifference or attempted humor to the problems we're having in L.A. or California.
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