Dean Woos Hispanics In South Texas ("Si, se puede,")

[truthpusher]

http://www.ksat.com/politics/4815153/detail.html?rss=ant&psp=news

DNC Chairman Dean Woos Hispanics In South Texas
Meeting To Be Held In SA
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POSTED: 1:02 pm CDT August 5, 2005
UPDATED: 1:13 pm CDT August 5, 2005
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EDINBURG, Texas -- Longtime Democratic strongholds like areas on the Texas-Mexico border will no longer be taken for granted, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said as he kicked of a weekend wooing Hispanics in South Texas.

"South Texas has been so good to the Democratic Party. I think it's about time we were good to South Texas," Dean said at a rally in Edinburg, a city just a few miles north of the Mexican border and more than 80 percent Mexican-American.

The former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential hopeful, continuing his 50-state tour with the rally, was next headed to the weekend-long DNC Hispanic Summit in San Antonio.

He joined students, senior citizens and local politicians with chants of "Si, se puede," a Spanish political phrase that means, "Yes, you can."

Dean drew the strongest applause when he said the Republicans would scapegoat immigrants during the 2008 presidential election.

"This party has been built by all those people who have been shunted aside, not welcome," he said. "We welcome everybody."

(snip)

complete story: http://www.ksat.com/politics/4815153/detail.html?rss=ant&psp=news

[bahrbearian]

1. Do you think that the DLC will take notice ?

We don't have to be like Repugs to excite our base.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. It's good to see Dean working South Texas

The Republicans will tell the Hispanic voters anything they think they want to hear and give them nothing in return.


This is what we need to see alot more of...

Annie Saldevar, a 22-year-old student at the University of Texas-Pan American, said she had voted Republican in the 2004 presidential election. However, she said she would vote Democratic next time because she was disillusioned by Bush. She said she was moved by Dean's visit. "It was really inspirational," she said. "It makes you think there's someone out there to speak just for you."

[Melodybe]

4. Dean cares, no matter who he is talking to the fact that he cares just

shines through.

I'm glad to see him talking about how the repubs are going to turn on immigrants in 2008. Way to cut them off at the pass!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. He's doing a great job

And I agree his caring does shine though in his words.

I was thrilled when I saw he was attending the Bexar County Democratic National Committee Hispanic Summit.

[Zorra]

3. I sure am glad Howard Dean is DNC chair. That at least gives us a

fighting chance against more unnecessary crushing DLC sponsored defeats in 2006.

[henslee]

6. I saw him live once and was super impressed. He is a great man

to have on point. And yes he does care.

[Eloriel]

21. He is a great man, period.

He is. He really is. Not perfect, but definitely a great man nonetheless.

[henslee]

42. Yes.

[Brooklyn Michael]

5. Putting Terry McAuliffe to shame....

Can anyone remember Mr. Smiley working this hard to bang the drum in EVERY state, not just the ones he has friends in?

I'm starting to think Dean is the political James Brown, "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business"...

:applause: :woohoo: :yourock: :dem:

[xxqqqzme]

8. too bad Howard won't see

your comparison to James Brown. He would love it. Throw his head back and laugh. I can see it now.

[Larkspur]

9. McAwful preferred to drive in limos

He didn't want to hang out with the peasants.

[tabasco]

18. Hell no that putz was too busy geting face time on CNN.

Dean is the man ! One of the real dems that can bring this party back to its principles and TAKE BACK THIS COUNTRY for the good !

[Cha]

22. Yes, that's a great comparison and

one I won't easily forget.

I never could understand why the Dems couldn't go to more states and then Viola..Dean is going to All 5-0!

[me b zola]

10. Brilliant.

The last few years I have listened to the Army's ads to attract Hispanics into the military. At the time the military's new motto was 'yes, you can'. I remember seeing this in spanish in television ads and in billboards.

This is brilliant because it works as an alternative to the Hispanic community as to what is possible, what is desirable.

Another example of Dr. Dean taking back language from the neo-thugs.

[cyberpj]

11. Really?

If Dean's DNC is showing that much savvy I may have to up my contributions.

Cool...


http://www.embeddedlive.com/

[me b zola]

13. That is just my take, my first gut reaction when I saw the headline

I cannot imagine that it is not intentional, although we will may never know. ;)


Regardless, I see it as a brilliant way to empower Hispanics, showing them a way to affect change and work for a more equitable life without dying for oil or private contracts. May this spread through out all disadvantaged communities----YES, YOU CAN!!!!!!!



Go, Howard, Go!!!!!!!

[truthpusher]

14. I thought it was good as well..n/t

[Shakespeare]

15. Do you know the origin of that phrase?

It's from Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement to unionize. If the army's been using it to advertise in the hispanic community, I find that offensive and outrageous.

edited to add: That phrase is STILL the rallying cry for organizing hispanic workers--SEIU uses it all the time, as well as the UFW.

[Eloriel]

23. Thank you -- I love it

I absolutely love it that Dean is picking up on it, ringing in the labor piece as well. Fabulous.

[me b zola]

41. The "Yes you can" campaign preceded the "army of one" campaign

"yes you can" was done, at least here on the west coast, both in English & in Spanish. I could be wrong, but it seems as though the "Si se puede" campaign lasted longer than it's english version (replaced by "An army of one").

I had no idea ( even though I grew up in the San Fernando Valley) that this was a rallying cry for the Hispanic community.

We should be outraged. I had no idea that the army had usurped this positive message into one to feed the noe-con agenda. :grr:



On a positive note: Dr. Dean has reclaimed the phrase! Let it be OUR rallying cry: SI` SE PUEDE!!!!!!!!

[ninkasi]

12. It's a great idea

I didn't sign up for DU's activist corps, because to tell you the truth, I am so computer dumb. I might, on my own, decide to write letters in Spanish to newspapers printed only in Spanish, but it's not my first language, and I'm afraid what I would try to say wouldn't be understood.

It's a good idea, though, Dean's efforts...y yo puedo hacer la lucha. Which might not mean what I thought it did, since it's been so many years I've had occasion to speak the beautiful language

[ray of light]

16. Please sign up for the D.U. activist corps/ write in both languages

and then maybe you can find a trusted person to interpret the Spanish for you. I am like you, in that my spanish and french are way too rusty to use, but I think your idea has merit.

Does D.U. have a spanish speakers forum? Could they ask for volunteers to screen letters? Are there other websites that do that?

I'd really like to see if some sort of biligual idea would work. Can you contact me? You can pm me if you want.

Let me think about this idea...and anyone else who is interested in this, let me know. We'll see what we can do to make this happen! 50 states multi-lingual!

[Andromeda]

17. Dean never ceases to amaze me.

He's doing so much good all over the country and it's long overdue.

[David Zephyr]

19. What a great Chair, Dr. Dean has turned out to be!

He is the man.

[Cha]

20. Si Se Puede!

I used to have a tee shirt that said that when I lived in San Diego in the '70's & '80's..I love it!

And another one Bites The Dust!..

"Annie Saldevar, a 22-year-old student at the University of Texas-Pan American, said she had voted Republican in the 2004 presidential election. However, she said she would vote Democratic next time because she was disillusioned by Bush. She said she was moved by Dean's visit. "It was really inspirational," she said. "It makes you think there's someone out there to speak just for you."

I guess "disillusioned"..poor thing bought the lies.


It's so sweet..they write .."The former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential hopeful, continuing his 50-state tour with the rally, was next headed to the weekend-long DNC Hispanic Summit in San Antonio.".."2004 presidential hopeful" instead of "failed presidential candidate". A Much more positive way to put it.

VIVA DEMOCRATIC PARTY!

[NNN0LHI]

24. Dean Warns That GOP Will Try to Make Immigrants Scapegoats in Next Election

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBTQFH01CE.html

Dean Warns That GOP Will Try to Make Immigrants 'scapegoats' in Next Election

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) - Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean argued on Friday that Republicans will try to make immigrants the "scapegoats" in the next election.

At a rally, Dean garnered the loudest applause when he said Republicans would make immigration a pivotal issue during upcoming elections, as they did gay marriage and affirmative action in previous elections.

"Do you know who the scapegoats are going to be? Immigrants," he said. "In Colorado, the chairman of the Republican Party endorsed Tom Tancredo for re-election. That is morally reprehensible. The governor of California, a supposed moderate Republican, invited the Minutemen to visit California. We do not need vigilante justice."

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., has drawn the ire of Hispanic groups in calling for tougher immigration enforcement and a proposal to tax some of the money immigrants send home. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a radio interview in April, said the civilian border patrols known as the Minutemen "have done a terrific job."

[ClassWarrior]

25. They're already doing it. Sensenbrenner's all over immigrants...

...like his own bad suits.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

39. Yuppers...Republicans have been beating this drum for, oh, 20 years?

In addition to all their other xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic, patriarchal,
theocratic cultural war issues.

I'd rather hear about verified voting legislation so we never have to question election results again.

[bahrbearian]

26. Gov. Schwarzenegger Minutemen "have done a terrific job."

They let him slip in.

[Warren Stupidity]

27. Its the immigrants who are taking our jobs

Pay no attention to globalization, to the wholesale deportation of industry and services to low wage overseas hell-holes, it is the brown people crossing our borders that are the problem.

It is a perfect foil. Another shiny object to distract us from the obvious.

[WindRavenX]

31. Yuppers

Good observation, Warren :thumbsup:

[MidwestTransplant]

28. Immigration is a total loosing issue for them

Damned if they do and damned if they don't. Either their base will hate them or they will go back to Pete Wilson status with Hispanics in 2008.

[Liberal Ohioan]

29. Tancredo is a jackass

[EVDebs]

30. Yes, Dean should remind R's that employers who've hired all those

immigrants illegally can be fined $10,000 for each offense. Oopie. Stone cold silence at the RNC at that point !

Maybe the Dems should bring that inconvenient little fact up. Since immigrants make up about 60% of labor force's growth since 2000:

""NATION’S IMMIGRANTS ACCOUNT FOR BULK OF LABOR FORCE GROWTH SINCE 2000 WHILE NATIVE-BORN WORKERS EXPERIENCE HEAVY DECLINES

New study reveals that the nation’s foreign-born make up more than half of the labor force growth between 2000 and 2003

REPORT REVEALS EXTRAORDINARY DEPENDENCE ON IMMIGRANTS IN LIGHT OF BUSH’S PROPOSAL TO OFFER 8 MILLION ILLEGALS AMNESTY""

http://www.nupr.neu.edu/01-04/immigration_jan.html

Wow, from 'amnesty' to 'scapegoat' in such a short timespan. Makes you wonder if Democrats are going to do anything either. Please read

'The Hard Truth of Immigration : No society has a boundless capacity to accept newcomers, especially when many of them are poor or unskilled workers' by Robert Samuelson of Newsweek
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8100266/site/newsweek/

If the Dems are going to do better than the Reps they can start by being more truthful on immigration !

[cally]

32. Gov. Wilson's (R) tried this

He was the former California governor and ran for re-election on an anti-immigrtation strategy. He won that re-election but California turned blue ever since. I think of Arnie as an abnormaility. The Republicans lost the hispanic vote in Cali. Fewer hispanics vote R in California than nationwide. If the nation follows California's pattern, the anti-immigrant attack may help this election but lose voters in future elections. I only hope it backfires now and in the future.

[Doremus]

33. If Dems push back on this issue, I'm afraid they're going to not only

alienate independents and moderate repugs, but half their own party as well.

And before anyone utters the word 'xenophobia,' it has NOTHING to do with the race of the uninvited guests.

This is an ECONOMIC issue. Minimum wage is at the lowest rate since the 30s. Business has no incentive, either from the government or the marketplace, to raise wages when the pool of prospective employees is larger than the number of jobs.

And please don't tell me that the national unemployment rate is only 5%. Illegal immigrants take jobs from the lowest-paid in our land, many of whom are minorities, and unemployment among their demographic is much higher.

We need to take care of our own citizens before we invite visitors.

If we persist in pushing the 'more the merrier' argument, we're going to be scratching our heads and wondering why we lost. Again.

[genieroze]

34. Hum, we can't allow other people into this country to work but we can

send work out of this country. :think:

[napi21]

37. No, we need to promote prosecuting employers who hire illegals.

I disagree with sending jobs out of the country, but other than some tax incentives to keep them here, I'm not sure what anyone can do to stop it. I think, in time, companies are going to realize even though it's cheaper, it's not working very well either! That will take time!

As to illegals, I have to believe, if I spent the time to go through the legal process to get my green card, or become a citizen of the US, I'D be really upset that others were getting the same advantages by just breaking the laws.

I think the Dem position should be to search out and punish the employers who hire illegals. No jobs...nobody will come.

This is not something new. I know in 1990, I supervised the hr dept alongs with being Dir, of Accounting. At the direction of our SR. Mgmt. we were instructed to insist on proof ov citizenship, and maintain form I9 on file for every employee. There's no reason that cannot be the rule everywhere.

[loudsue]

38. The PROBLEM is.....it's BOTH! We let immigrants in, AND our jobs go out

Where does that leave us workers who grew up on this soil?

Phucked. Everybody but US gets work!

If businesses hired LEGAL workers, at least we'd have half of the equation solved.


:kick::kick::kick:

[wli]

35. Are aliens accused of murder in their home countries illegal?

If so, Schwarzenegger himself is an illegal alien.

[Politicub]

36. Dean on the offensive!

I'm so happy he's our party's chair!!

:bounce:

[theboss]

40. Once again, Hillary is ahead of Dean on an issue

Hillary - probably on the advice of her husband - is already running far to the right of the Republicans on this issue. The Republicans are trapped on immigration. The social conservatives want to seal the borders immediately. The business leaders adore cheap labor. So, it's a choice between pissing off your voters or pissing off your money supply. Tough choice.

Hillary wants to steal about 8 percent of the social conservatives. And enough of them are angry enough about immigration to consider the unthinkable...

[Oerdin]

43. I will take a lot more then a few Spanish phrases

like "Si, se puede" in order to keep the trust of Hispanic Americans. We've lost a lot of support in that community because we took them for granted and ignored them. The Democratic Party's protectionist inclinations, as displayed during the recent CAFTA battle, doesn't help things either. Throw in that Republicans are trying to woow Hispanic Catholics with their religious appeals and you see why support for Democrats in that community has been slipping for years.

These people hate being patronized and looked down upon by white politicians who think they can mutter a few Spanish phrases and that everything is OK after that. We're going to have to offer policies which reflect their desires and asperations as well as do a better job of communicating why our ideas will benefit them more then the other guy's ideas. If we can't do that then we lose.