Posted on 07/18/2005 5:16:36 PM PDT by CHARLITE
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said Monday the "achievement gap is beginning to close" between Hispanic and white students, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton countered that she's not convinced the federal government is doing enough to help Hispanic youth get through school.
Spellings and Clinton each spoke at the convention of the National Council of La Raza, a four-day event that ends Tuesday.
The two did not dispute statistics that show Latino students have the nation's highest high school dropout rate and the lowest college enrollment rate, but diverged on whether the government is fixing the problem. Praising No Child Left Behind, the education law President Bush signed in January 2002, Spellings pointed to National Assessment of Educational Progress scores released Thursday that show 9-year-olds, including Hispanics, have improved their reading and math scores.
"These results did not come out of thin air," Spellings said. "They came from a commitment to doing something that's never been done before, a commitment to giving every child a quality education."
"The achievement gap is beginning to close," she said.
But minutes later, the Democratic senator told the same group: "You are doing your part, but I don't know that your government is doing its part right now."
Clinton stressed that, though younger students' scores have improved, 17-year-olds have made virtually no gains since the tests first started being given 30 years ago.
"I'm not sure that we are doing everything we should to make your job easier, to make sure that the opportunity society is alive and well for everyone," she said.
Linda L. Silva, a Democratic organizer and advocate for Latinos in Concord County, Pa., stood with hundreds of others to applaud Clinton, particularly when the senator called for policy changes that would allow undocumented immigrant students to receive college aid.
Silva said she hopes to see Clinton enter the race for president in 2008. "There's no one else in America who has more integrity today," she said.
The welcome for Spellings was more muted.
Washington-based La Raza was founded in Phoenix in 1968 as a Mexican-American civil rights group and now is the nation's largest advocacy group for Hispanics. It represents 4 million members in 300 affiliates across the country.
Minutes after the speeches ended, eight people who said they want tighter controls on immigration walked into the Pennsylvania Convention Center where the meeting is being held wearing T-shirts and caps saying "U.S. Border Patrol," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of La Raza. They were escorted from the building without incident, Munoz said.
I didn't know that La Raza was the largest group---I would have thought that LULAC was the largest...
Neither one of them are for "immersion" and "assimilation", which are two things that would be necessary, IMHO.
There is another thread with a commentary by Mary Steyn about multiculturalism---that is what THIS problem is.
Our country, especially the Hillary's LOVE multiculturalism, and is will mean the end of the United States of America.
Yikes! Were this true, it would be frightening! Of course, it isn't true, in fact, quite the opposite is true!
the real racists are the american liberals such as hillary, and la raza.
i can see it now:
la raza, lulac or maldef protesting the white minutemen in an emotional image on tv manufactured by the hillary for president team.
La Raza is one of the most active racist organizations in America. And yes both the republicans and democrats are courting this race based hate group. Vote Tancredo or the constitution party before it is to late.
On a side note, there is a Spanish language radio station in my area that sponsors a bunch of local events. I noticed their slogan is "Pura Raza". What the hell am I supposed to make of that?
Voting for the constitution party gave us Harry Reid, without the constitution party splitting it's vote with the republicans reid would have been kicked out of the senate years ago.
Constitution party slogan should be vote for me and help make nancy pelosi speaker of the house.
What are FROBLs?
As far as "Pura Raza," you know exactly what to make of that trash.
After this, if Hillary gets the Democratic nomination, then I can't jump from the Republican party for being too easy on illegal immigration. Libertarians are out on this issue entirely. Only the Constitutional party might offer a competitive choice of stopping this tidal wave of third-world demography from sinking our country.
There's no way Hillary can now run as an anti-illegal candidate and gather up the mainstream vote.
As like many others, I'm voting solely on the issue of illegal aliens this next election. Hitlery is now out, thank goodness.
Hoppy
Well, there is "pandering" and there is "PANDERING." With her ethics and intefrity levels being what they are, Hillie will be maximum pandering when she lewinskis each of these racists.
"There's no way Hillary can now run as an anti-illegal candidate and gather up the mainstream vote. As like many others, I'm voting solely on the issue of illegal aliens this next election. Hitlery is now out, thank goodness."
While Hillary may not get the vote of right-thinking informed citizens concerned about border security and sovereignty, she still has the potential to fool many uninformed voters with a "border security" platform. I just don't believe that she has been building a record of statements against illegal immigration without a purpose.
(Thank you George Bush, for not doing anything to close the borders or halt the illegal alien invasion of the United States of America!)
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U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said Monday the "achievement gap is beginning to close" between Hispanic and white students, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton countered that she's not convinced the federal government is doing enough to help Hispanic youth get through school.Spellings and Clinton each spoke at the convention of the National Council of La Raza, a four-day event that ends Tuesday.
I'm not going to defend the tan clan, but that motto is actually the motto of MeCHA. La Raza may be a bunch of brown supremacists, and they may be good buddies with MeCHA and other similar brown supremacist groups, but that isn't their motto. Just trying to keep our brown supremacists groups straight.
>"Just trying to keep our brown supremacists groups straight"<
HA! Good one Spiff.
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