Texas state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio,
tapes her part of the Democratic response to President
Bush's State of the Union address, in Spanish.
Dennis Cook: AP
Posted on 01/29/2008 4:10:26 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
A San Antonio Democrat on Monday chided President Bush before an international Spanish-speaking audience for vetoing children's health insurance and ignoring the needs of America's Hispanic citizens.
But state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte insisted beforehand that her message would be positive.
She was selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to deliver the Democratic Party's nationally broadcast Spanish-language response immediately after Bush's State of the Union address Monday night.
"I am not taking a shot at the president," Van de Putte said from Washington early Monday, where she taped her remarks for broadcast later in the evening.
Instead, Van de Putte, who said she was "nervous, excited, honored and scared to death all at the same time," touted her party as the source of hope for the estimated 12 million to 15 million Hispanics tuning in on Spanish-language radio and television.
In her response, Van de Putte termed seven years of Bush administration economic policy as a disaster for many Hispanics.
"Latinos find themselves working more and more in our country today and taking home fewer wages," she said.
Hispanics, the fastest growing demographic in the nation, are being courted by politicians as more Latinos become citizens and reach voting age.
In both of his presidential campaigns, Bush went after the Hispanic vote, picking up more minority votes than any previous Republican candidate for the office — roughly 40 percent in 2004.
But last year's bitter immigration debate, and many GOP lawmakers' unwillingness to adopt a reform measure backed by Bush, hurt Republican efforts to entice Latinos to join the party.
Now Bush's approval ratings are near the worst of his eight-year presidency, and Van de Putte said her response was aimed at restoring hope and optimism.
"I wanted to keep it short and to the point, but also focus on the feeling of disappointment around the country and at the same time really touch on the fact that there is hope, that the future will be better and that Democrats will work to provide a better quality of life," she said.
Van de Putte hoped she would not sound "too Tex-Mex, since Spanish speakers in New York, Florida, California and Texas all have different accents and manners of speech."
To overcome that, she said she practiced her delivery and pacing in the shower, where no one would bother her.
Van de Putte, who said she has been refining her eight-minute speech and vetting it with Pelosi's office, noted her comments were based on conversations with Hispanic politicians, business people and "regular citizens from around the country.
"We share concerns that the rest of the country has: the economy, education, health care and Iraq," she said, "but I plan to focus on those things that have specific importance to the Hispanic community."
"We are also concerned that the Hispanics' American dream — that their kids have more and better education and job opportunities than they did — is in danger because of how the (Bush) administration has managed the economy."
Van de Putte, who later this summer will be a co-chair at her party's national convention, listened to Bush's speech from the speaker's box in the gallery.
Her comments were broadcast internationally by Univision and Telemundo televison networks and on Spanish-language CNN Radio.
ggarcia@express-news.net
To many burrito’s, Leticia?
Well,
Putte, Putte to you
I was thinking tacos.
Van de Putte ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
(Texas) Senator wants to grade pupils’ body fat
Guess who.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1323839/posts
Communist, racist cow.
If it’s not Leticia ranting about something, it’s Sheila bad mouthing something else.
Oh... her. Big wind.
So does anyone know for how long the socialist blowhards have been getting free airtime to broadcast a Spanish language rebuttal to the SOTU address?? They already get to do one in English, there was some really dull socialist blowhard giving that one last night, too. It wasn’t the same woman (though it was another socialist woman) so the ‘Rats were given TWO different rebuttal opportunities on free airwaves????? What’s up with that b.s.?
Here in Texas we call her..... Sen. Leticia Van La Puta
The irony of this should be apparent to most Freepers.
Should be apparent even to those in Rio Linda.
Sigh. It's the American Dream, Letty, not Hispanics' American Dream. Their kids would have more and better education if they sent them to school (or home school), encouraged them to learn and be responsible and quit thinking the nanny state should do their job for them. Furthermore, if one speaks English, job opportunities will be increased.
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