ARTICLES
November 2003 ARTICLES
Contents © 2003
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
Party Animals
Is "Republican" Another Name for "Democrat"?
By Maria Kennedy
Increasingly, the fracture of the California Republican Party is mirrored by the fracture among Latino party faithful. Nowhere was this more evident than among those who attended the party's September 12-14 convention, held at the Airport Marriott hotel in Los Angeles. During that meeting, the California State Republican National Hispanic Assembly quietly voted to support Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor.
The Republican Hispanic Assembly held a forum at the convention, the intent of which was purportedly to discuss how to strengthen their group; but, to the surprise of some attendees, the meeting turned out to be a junta to endorse pro-abortion Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although Schwarzenegger is philosophically aligned with Latino Democrats in Sacramento on the issues of abortion and homosexual rights, the Republican Latino group seemed eager to ignore this.
Manny Aldana, a conservative who has run for the 46th assembly district, said he was disappointed with the outcome of the meeting. "It was clear that the party did not want the membership to vote," he said about the fact that there never was a vote on whether or not to endorse Schwarzenegger. "I went to this meeting to talk about our plans for the group, about how to help the president in 2004. The Republican National Hispanic Assembly is not in good shape, and yet all they did was talk about Arnold."
Aldana said that the Republican Party does not readily support pro-lifers, like himself. "They gave Gary Mendoza over a million dollars when he ran for insurance commissioner because he's pro choice. They hardly gave me anything," said Aldana. With regards to the endorsement vote for Schwarzenegger, Aldana said, "supposedly it was done though e-mail, but we don't know if it was authentic; we don't know the results. It was all done by the leadership." In a press release issued September 21, 2003, Aldana said that he had been asked to be on the steering committee for the Arnold for Governor campaign, but he declined because "of moral obligations." Aldana noted that it was "contradictory to support Miguel Estrada because of the fact that liberal Democratic Senators didn't approve of his conservative beliefs, when at the same time [the party leadership] would rather support Arnold over the pro-life, pro-family candidate for governor, state senator Tom McClintock."
Over and over, the Latino Republicans at the convention reiterated the mantra of "inclusiveness." "One of the things we strive for is to be inclusive. We are the new face of the party, and we are a diverse face," Luis Vega told the audience. Vega ran for the 31st congressional district but lost to incumbent Xavier Becerra. According to Vega's web site, he plans to run again in 2004.
When asked about the statement made by the vice chair the Republican Hispanic group, that Latinos are opposed to homosexual marriage, Juan Botero, a senior consultant to the Schwarzenegger campaign, answered, "they are [opposed to it] for the most part." When asked if Schwarzenegger was in favor of homosexual marriage, Botero stated, "he does not support it. He went on the record with Sean Hannity on the radio, and he clarified that gay union is different than gay marriage. Arnold believes that marriage is between man and woman. If people want to have a gay union, there is not much that you can do. His position on gay marriage is that he opposes it. The definition of marriage, historically in America, is that it is between a man and a woman." When asked if Schwarzenegger supported domestic partnerships, Botero replied, "I don't know if it's a matter that he supports it. The issue is legislation to normalize this thing called gay marriage. That's a constitutional issue; they are looking at the language. He is opposed to gay marriage." Botero declined to comment on Schwarzenegger's abortion views. When Botero was introduced at the meeting, he was greeted with loud cries of "Arnold, Arnold."
Sylvia Sullivan, a Latina pro-lifer from San Diego, said she was disappointed with the party's endorsement of Schwarzenegger. "Basically, I thought it was a shame the way the voting was handled on the endorsement. Most interestingly of all, when my twenty-three-year-old son commented on this, he said 'the Latinos' position is pro-family and against the homosexual agenda.' He thought it was interesting that the Latino Republicans had endorsed Arnold Schwarzenegger in light of the fact that he is in opposition to the very views that the Hispanic community stands for. He thought this was kind of contradictory."
Lee Avila, the outgoing Greater Los Angeles chapter chair of the State Republican National Hispanic Assembly, told the audience that it was imperative to recall the governor and stated, "we'll all be there for Arnold; I see it in everyone's eyes." Avila told the participants that the California Republican Party was eager to work with Latino Republicans.
Julie Melendez, a pro-life activist, said that she thought the leadership of the Latino Republicans "decided to compromise so they can go with the mainstream." When asked if she would support Arnold, Melendez replied, "I'm a conservative before I'm anything else. I'm going to vote my conscience." When asked to speculate what happened with the California Republican Hispanic Assembly, Melendez said, "a few people took it upon themselves to endorse Arnold." Melendez said that there is confusion among Latinos because of the conflicting messages. "Those who really know what's at stake here understand what's going on, but many people don't know," she said.
The star of the meeting undoubtedly was former United States treasurer, Rosario Marin. Marin, a Mexican immigrant Bush appointee, is pro-abortion. Marin recently resigned as treasurer in order to explore a run against Barbara Boxer for her United States Senate seat. Marin addressed the crowd with great enthusiasm, although she cautioned any press in the audience not to interpret her giddiness as a clear sign that she was running for Boxer's seat.
Aldana summarized the situation of the Latino Republican establishment, saying they have sold out their own when they endorsed Schwarzenegger. "To esteem race or popularity above American principles is treason," he concluded.