Posted on 01/03/2003 10:54:30 PM PST by lewislynn
br>Jan. 3, 2003, 10:38PM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is starting a Spanish-language Web site designed to give 1.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses better access to information on government grants, trade and high-tech issues.
The Spanish site can be found at http://www.commerce.gov.
"The Hispanic community has an ally in President Bush," Commerce Secretary Don Evans said Friday.
It's a message Bush emphasized as a candidate for Texas governor and president, and one he hopes will win him support from the nation's fastest-growing ethnic minority as he heads toward a 2004 re-election campaign.
The number of U.S. Hispanics rose by 58 percent during the past decade to 35.3 million, according to census figures -- just under the 35.4 million figure for black Americans, the nation's largest minority. As many as 1 million Hispanics will be registered to vote by 2004.
The Web site is a sign of Bush's target within a community that has traditionally leaned Democratic: Hispanic business owners. Hispanics, especially women, form the nation's fastest-growing group of business owners.
"I think it's a good first step, a symbolic step, in recognizing the importance of the Hispanic community," said George Herrera, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which was consulted on the new site.
Although Bush, who speaks some Spanish, has pleased many Hispanics with his appointments, Herrera's group acknowledges that there's much ideological space to be bridged between Hispanics and the administration on such issues as raising the minimum wage and immigration reform for noncitizens who work in the United States.
Health care policy, too, is a prickly topic: Hispanics, just 11 percent of the U.S. population, account for 35 percent of those without health insurance.
I'm glad your imagination is limited to reality and not exaggeration like other posters, after all it's just a website to gather information. Good for you, Joe ol' boy!
Happy New Year, Joe.
Heh heh heh. You Bet. And that's exactly what Bush is doing. He has a surprise in store for him come 2004.
You think Bush might put up a website for those unfortunate folks who happen to be American Citizens? The only one I see for that is the IRS website. "Pay Early and Often".
Yes, "besides English." The language of commerce in this country. The United States of America -- remember??.
Maybe you won't mind Administration websites guiding Chinese, Saudi, Korean, and Upper Voltan, and 100 other non-English speaking "business owners" with access to information on government give-aways in their own respective language.
Dubya is clearly kissing @ss pandering to a specific voter constituency whether you want to accept this fact or not.
I think he's thought it out already...
At the eleventh hour, during the Election 2004 stretch run, Dubya will unveil his ace in the hole -- finally announcing with great fanfare his judicial conservative appointments -- with "promises" for more after the election...
And you're clearly blowing this out of proportion. I've never been interested in discussing something that isn't factual.
Everything about Bill Clinton was illegal.
Isn't the fact of the matter Dubya's pandering to non-English speaking "business owners," instead of having them learning the native language of commerce?
Certainly the President should have far more important things on his mind.
You're right. It should have read: Bush reaches out to the poor downtrodden, under-represented hispanic businesses who can't find the time to learn the native language for their own betterment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.