It’s that time of the election season again, when Latino celebs start to make the rounds with appeals for their candidates. Sometimes I question the effectiveness of it all especially since many celebrities are in the 1% and don’t necessarily convey the struggle of the average Latino. Of course, I know that many of these stars come from humble beginnings.

So here’s a piece I recently wrote questioning the Obama campaign’s use of George Lopez in their Latinos for Obama outreach efforts. This is a guy who is known for saying, “F&#@ that puto!” Is this the kind of celeb the Latinos for Obama outreach arm wants to promote? And do other Latinos identify with his humor?

By Sofia Sanchez

Hispanics and Latinos are expected to play a decisive role in elections at all levels in 2012. They are a rapidly growing share of the electorate that could have a major influence on future elections as well. This has implications for both major political parties.

Although they comprise 16 percent of the U.S. population, just 43 percent of Hispanics and Latinos are eligible to vote because they have a higher proportion of non-citizens and those under 18-years-of-age. Pew demographic studies show that this is spread among many states and diminishes their impact on elections and the Electoral College. In some states, they would only comprise as little one or two percent of the electorate.

However, in states such as California and Nevada, the demographic effects of the Hispanic and Latino vote can impact the results dramatically. In these states, both political parties will be competing for their votes using the issues that are important to these voters.

Illegal immigration is high among those issues. According to Lincoln Park Strategists statistics, 61 percent of Hispanics and Latinos consider discrimination a major problem. They support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants as long as they pass a background check, pay a fine, and have jobs. Less than 20 percent support the strict immigration laws that were passed in Arizona and other states.

The Hispanic population in Florida is the third-largest in the nation with Latinos representing 13.1% of all votes for the state. As a younger population of voters they too will be concerned about discriminatory regulations and most importantly immigrations laws, as stated by various abogados en Orlando. Candidates will be paying closest attention to the dominant state of New Mexico, that accounting for the largest percentage of Hispanic voters at 39%.

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I wanted to share a piece that was written for another website because despite a lot of the hype about Latinos in this election cycle and overtures by conservatives to cultivate this segment of voters, we will sometimes see white supremacists legitimized in mainstream conservative spaces. It is almost as if American conservatives (and the GOP) have a hard time distancing themselves from the racists. Of course, there are plenty of conservatives who will denounce this kind of thing.

So check out this piece, CPAC: Grammys of Hate Speech.

By Thay Alaffita

Since the DREAM Act was introduced for the first time in 2001, a decade ago, it has been changed, modified, and altered to something that vaguely resembles our dreams for the mere sake of catering to the Republicans’ needs and wants.

Granted we can’t all get what we want so we, DREAMers, understand the importance of meeting our opposition halfway – some DREAM Act is better than no DREAM Act.

Last year, during the lame duck session in December 2010, our hopes were high, and there was no opposition on our part to the modifications that were made to the original bill even though its new form left out a significant group of DREAMers who have been in the struggle since day one.

This new bill was more specific about the things that would constitute as “good moral standing”, it specified that having fixed status through the DREAM Act, DREAMers would never be able to petition for family members or loved ones, and it lowered the age cap (this amendment being the one affecting the DREAMers mentioned above who unfortunately, aged out of this new version).

Even so, these very DREAMers, the seniors in our movement, urged the passage of the DREAM Act in its new form and us to continue fighting, at this point it had become about the movement as a whole and not an individual interest.

However, our GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney have interesting opinions on the DREAM Act. They say if they become president they will support the DREAM Act, but only for those who join the military. Although there is a group of military DREAMers who would benefit from this form of the DREAM Act, there is a larger group of us who won’t. This suggestion is an insult to our movement, to our struggle, and to our DREAMers who have been fighting for equal education for all. All that Gingrinch and Romney are saying through this is that we are only useful for war, at the forefront, as cannonballs and ammunition, implying that we are not capable of anything else but going to war.

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The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting the following:

“Fabian Nunez, who as California Assembly Speaker became one of the state’s most prominent Latino lawmakers, is taking on a new media career — joining a team of 2012 election analysts with powerhouse Spanish-language Univision Communications.

Democrat Nunez joins a pair of GOP analysts — journalist Helen Aguirre Ferre and Dr. Emilio Gonzalez, who served as director of the Homeland Security’s immigration services — in the new analyst job with Univision. The new team is charged with delivering political analysis  on the issues and the candidates of the 2012 presidential election on Univision’s evening newscasts, “Noticiero Univision,” for the network’s popular Sunday news show, “Al Punto” (To the Point), and its morning program, “Despierta America.” The network will use the team as part of a plan to marshall more social network and interactive coverage with its “Destino 2012? coverage, according to a Univision news release.

”As Hispanics continue to grow innumber and influence, and become  even more engaged with technology and social platforms, Unvision will….keep audiences abreast of the news that will impoact their lives, so in turn they can make informed decisions,” according to a statement Monday by Isaac Lee, president of News/Univision Communications.”

Since leaving his position as the Speaker of the California Assembly and the controversial pardon of his son’s manslaugher case, Nuñez has maintained a rather low profile. I think that this might be a step toward reshaping his image in taking this public step as a media analyst. It will be interesting to see how the viewers of Univision react to him. I’m not too surprised that he’s stepping back out into the public sphere — are you?

Jon Huntsman is leaving the GOP primary race, but it’s worth noting that his absence will leave a void for those in the GOP who wanted more moderation and nuance on the immigration issue. Contrast some of Huntsman’s statements with those of Mitt Romney who continues to move to the right on immigration. This week Mitt Romney received the endorsement of Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State, who has promoted many of the state anti-immigration laws.

Here are a few of Huntsman’s statements on immigration:

“I believe that young kids when they’re dragged here to the United States have no say over their journey. They have no say over their destiny,” he said at an event at the Salem Chamber of Commerce. “And we either have a two-tiered bifurcated system or we allow, somehow, people to achieve the American dream.”

“I hate the thought of a fence on the border. As an American, the thought of a fence to some extent repulses me, because it is not consistent with the image that we projected to the rest of the world. But the situation is such today that I don’t think we have a choice, and before we begin the conversation of processing 11 or 12 million undocumented workers, we’ve got to secure the border. There’s got to be an alternative rather than sending people back. That’s unrealistic.”

“Yes, they came here in an illegal fashion. And yes, they should be punished in some form or fashion. We can find a solution. If President Reagan were here, he would speak to the American people and he would lay out in hopeful, optimistic terms how we can get there, remembering full well that we’re dealing with human beings here. We have to agree. But let me just say one thing about legal immigration. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that our legal immigration system is broken. And if we want to do something about attracting brain power to this country, we need to focus as much on legal immigration.”

What are your thoughts? Do you think that the remaining GOP candidates will regret having taken more extreme positions on immigration?

By Seneca

2012 could be the actual beginning of the long expected Latino political awakening. Why? Perhaps sheer numbers, the reaction to the dire economic costs the community has endured, the evaporation of Latino family wealth in the housing bubble and great Mortgage scams, high unemployment and under-employment, continuously high drop out rates for high school completion of any ethnic group, the appallingly high prison population, and an alarming obesity and diabetes problem that plagues the community. All of these issues are maddening and worthy of action. Simply stated, the Latino community writ large is in crisis.

This crisis is further exacerbated by the anti-immigrant (now largely anti-Latino) social and political movement emerging throughout the country with such mean-spirited fury in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina and many other locales signals a most distressing phenomena. The continued aggressive deportations have helped portray Latinos as a marginalized class of dark, uneducated, criminally menacing and generally undesirable people. Our discouraging lack of unity or even outrage is sadly absent amongst our fellow Hispanics. This general lack of passion suggests that a boiling point has not been reached. Hence, to expect an out-pouring of angry or concerned Latino citizenry at the polls is not in the cards.

This lack of cohesiveness readily explains President Obama’s tepid leadership on Latino issues. At times, the Democrats smack of a craven or pusillanimous approach. For instance, the Congressional Democrats, more specifically those in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, have been reluctant to challenge the President on his record deportations that have separated American born children from their parents and have occasionally caught US citizens in the ICE dragnet. As for the GOP, it manifests irrational derailment (crack up) or plain madness. An example of this is how many Republicans refuse to address the immigration problem humanely, while ratcheting up the heated rhetoric that many Latinos find offensive. Additionally, the Republican approach to Latin American foreign policy is irrational, as evidenced by the recent failure to confirm Ambassador Aponte and the continued linking of Hugo Chavez to Iran. Neither party appears to feel the need to cater or attend to our disturbing issues. It is as if our 50 million + population does not matter and may be satisfied with only a handful of swing states: Florida the biggest prize, which empowers the Cuban Americans out of proportion and the smaller states like New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada give the Hispanics some electoral heft. Overall, the Latino vote in electoral terms is largely viewed as those reduced groups of prosperous or “assimilated” Hispanics.

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By Edwin Romero

A lot can take place within a 15 year span. Children grow, people mature, faces age and, at times, are replaced. You may find the facades of buildings remain the same all the while the folks who dwell inside alternate. So is the case within Logan Square, a neighborhood in the Northwest side of Chicago. At one point, the population within the area was dominated by Latinos, however, nowadays it seems that Caucasians are the populous race. Neighbors I grew up with have gone and moved away, replaced by college kids and young professionals.

At this point, you could see that this piece revolves around the topic of gentrification. However, before we move on, I should state that it isn’t one in which I will condone or condemn the phenomena, but rather one in which I inform through personal experience.

I am not saying that Logan Square is the only area in Chicago, let alone, the U.S. that has undergone the gentrifying process. Several neighborhoods around Chicago have had the same experience (Lincoln Park and Pilsen are but two). However, like many individuals who are from such areas, there are personal stakes. At 8 years old, my parents, two Ecuadorian immigrants, had decided to open up a small business located within the neighborhood, El Condor. At first it was meant to be nothing more than a dollar store. Over the years it had grown to be a distributor of Latin American products. I spent my childhood hanging around their storefront, thoughtlessly watching the area change through the arrival of higher income individuals as well as through redevelopment efforts.

I’ll be quite honest I am torn between the old and the new. I remember being a child and experiencing the neighborhood during its shadiest of forms. I still remember walking down Milwaukee Avenue at the age of 12 and being held up at knife point for what little money I had in my pocket. I can’t forget the anxiety and the constant looking over my shoulder during my teen years. In fact, it had gotten to the point where I had to carry a weapon, myself, in the event anything transpired.

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