Posted on 06/25/2007 4:35:52 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
TAMPA - When 1,000 Hispanic elected officials and community leaders from across the country gather in Orlando later this week, they'll hear from seven major Democratic candidates for president, but none of the major Republican candidates.
All of the GOP candidates except dark horse Duncan Hunter declined invitations to appear at this year's annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, or NALEO.
Even Arizona Sen. John McCain, a hero to some Hispanics because of his stance on immigration reform, won't be there.
Democrats are portraying that as a snub of Hispanics by the GOP candidates.
"Republicans Giving Up On Latinos" was the headline on a Democratic Party news release about the event. The release called it a "sign of conceding the Latino vote in Florida to Democrats," and noted that in 2006 Democrats won the Florida Hispanic vote for the first time in 30 years.
Leaders of the association say they're disappointed.
But some Florida Republicans, who acknowledge they would prefer that their candidates show up, scoff at the idea that GOP-oriented Florida Hispanic voters suddenly have converted or that the presidential candidates are giving up on them.
The reason the candidates aren't coming, said state Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, is that NALEO, even though it's nonpartisan, "absolutely is a Democratic-oriented organization - just because most Hispanic elected officials outside Florida are Democrats."
Rivera said he still would encourage Republicans to attend: "There's a case to be made for stating your position in a hostile environment."
He said a mostly Democratic gathering isn't a great place for a Republican to find support in a presidential primary, though.
Another Miami Republican state legislator, Rep. Juan Zapata, a board member of NALEO and chairman of the state's host committee for the conference, has lobbied for three years to hold the conference in Florida.
"To go through all that and then see all the Republican candidates are a no-show, it's a huge loss for the Republicans," Zapata said.
Zapata said the Democratic orientation of most Hispanic political figures "is not going to change if the Republicans don't engage."
Florida Has Unique Demographics The issue emphasizes the demographic differences between Hispanics in Florida and those elsewhere.
In Florida, Republican-leaning anti-Castro Cubans have long dominated Hispanic politics, and most big-name Hispanic politicians are Republican, including Sen. Mel Martinez and state House Speaker Marco Rubio, both speaking at the conference.
Hispanic communities in other states are made up of more residents from Central and South America and Puerto Rico, and leaders are more likely to be Democrats.
Arturo Vargas, executive director of NALEO, acknowledged that most of the group's members are Democrats, but denied the organization was Democratic-oriented.
"The strength of NALEO is that when they come to our events, they leave their party registration outside the door," he said.
Vargas said NALEO's president, former Pontiac, Mich., official John Bueno, is a Republican, as are four other members of its 20-member board.
Only about a tenth of the Latino elected officials who are NALEO members hold partisan offices, Vargas said, which means it's difficult to determine the membership's party breakdown.
Vargas said invitations went out in January, and the Republican presidential candidates who were invited - Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, McCain, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Tommy Thompson - cited scheduling conflicts or prior commitments in declining.
"We know scheduling is a matter of priorities," he said. "This clearly sends a message that Latino elected officials are not a priority for the candidates."
Representatives for the leading Republican candidates denied that.
"It's nothing like that from us," said Giuliani spokesman Elliott Bundy, noting that his candidate will meet with Hispanic supporters Thursday night at a Hialeah restaurant.
A spokesman for McCain, Danny Diaz, said the senator likely would be welcomed at the conference because of his work on immigration.
"It would be hard to say he's ducking the Hispanic audience," Diaz said, noting that McCain chose Miami as the site of a major speech on immigration recently.
Romney's Hispanic outreach spokesman, Alex Burgos, himself from Miami's Cuban community, said Romney "chose to honor a prior commitment" for a dinner in Iowa. He said Romney "has campaigned among Florida Hispanic voters and counts on the support of an impressive group of national Hispanic leaders."
What's he planning...?
Hunter ping.
Anyone live near Orlando that can check this event out?
Hunter’s presence at a Latino event is interesting, to say the least. Especially considering that none of the other Republicans accepted an invitation, while all of the Dems are coming...
Hmm.
Awesome! I think it’s very telling that he’s the ONLY Republican who will go before an crowd of entirely opposition and tell it like it is!! I love it!!
GO DUNCAN!!!
I’m surprised Tancredo and Paul skipped this event. Hunter’s not afraid to tell ANYONE *how it is*. KUDOS!
way to court the Hispanic vote, guys...what? the only way you know to do that is to reward lawbreakers?
If they want to advertise this, they need to be more specific.
Considering Hunter’s long-standing record on cracking down on illegals - plus support for a border fence - I think he has something different in mind.
http://www.naleo.org/annualconference.html
Apparently, the event starts on the 28th, with the debate being on the 30th.
I have every confidence Duncan Hunter will be there to represent & reflect his values, goals and convictions.
He's not there to pander, but to speak the truth.
I assume Fred Thompson was not invited, since he is not a declared candidate. Anybody know the facts on this?
I live in Texas and know a lot of Hispanics. Maybe Hunter realizes a couple things that some Freepers seem to miss:
I realize that #2 doesn't apply to all Hispanics, but it applies to many that I have spoken to.
Boy would I like to be a fly on the wall at this event!!
The transcripts, if one is provided, will be interesting enough, but nothing beats being there!
Lots of Latins and Carribeans are against illegal immigration and amnesty. They have been here for many generations and are Americans. Good for Hunter.
Has anyone ever known a Dem to do that?
That is certainly true. Hopefully the crowd at this NALEO debate pertain more to choices 1 and 2, instead of the illegals crowd.
Immigration-related ping.
I don’t know the facts on this, but whenever I’ve questioned anyone here about Fred’s lack of participation in the debates, I’m always given the excuse that he doesn’t participate because he isn’t invited since he hasn’t declared. I suppose the same holds true here. I would very much welcome his participation, especially in this ‘event’. I think in this setting it would go a long way in shedding light on Fred’s position.
Seeing as you’re a Florida Freeper, will you be going, perchance? ;)
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