Monday Morning Wrap Up

Here are Monday morning top news:

- GOP looking for the next "Regan Republic" seem to have found him in actor and former Senator Fred Thompson.

- Tomorrow thousands are expected at the May 1st immigration rallies. Los Angeles is getting ready for the worst.

- Harvard students protest Gonzales. Small but vocal group heckles the AG.

- A local Utah GOP Chair has a resolution for the party - blame Satan for immigration.

The Bush Bongo

Here is a good start to the weekend, in case you missed it, on Wednesday, April 25, President Bush marked Malaria Awareness Day. He commemorated the event with a ceremony in the Rose Garden featuring Senegalese performers from the West African Dance Company. The President, who is afraid to show his dance moves, or lack there off, joined the Senegalese dancers on stage.

Watch the Clip to better explain these pictures:

Getting Ready for May 1st

On May 1st dozens of pro-immigrant groups are attempting to repeat last years immigration marches. Organizers in Miami, Fl; Tuscon, AZ; New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL and many more will rally hundreds of people supporting immigrant rights and immigration reform.

more to come....

Dems Debate in South Carolina

The run for the White House has officially begun. The Democrats had the early start showing off their candidates for the White House with the first Presidential Candidate debate in South Carolina. (One of the states in the “Super Duper Tuesday” primary run.) Read full analysis from WashingtonPost.com

The Democrat debate was an interesting showing for the left, but nothing stood out and there were defiantly no overall winners. Some candidates like former Senator Gravel provided the entertainment for the evening. (Amazingly the former Alaskan Senator made Kucinich look moderate!)

The eight candidates showed a united front on many issues. They all are against the Iraq war, promising to end military operations in the region in a swift manner. (There were only minor differences on when to cut the funding.) All candidates are pro abortion. All eight Democrats hate President Bush and blamed all the bad things in the country on the current administration. (Yes it seemed to be incredibly enlightening rant from the Dems!)

There were clearly inconsistencies given by the candidates. Candidates, such as Clinton, backtracked on their position on Iraq. Dodd dismissed the continued job growth and America’s growing economy. Richardson attacked the administrations work in Darfur, even though the administration has been working since last year with the Sudanese government and the UN to help the people of Darfur. Obama stood firm on his position from not accepting money from lobbyist but continues to receive hundreds of contributions from law firms who house high powered lobbyist. Obama also touted his health care plan that he has yet to unveil.

What does the RNC say

Not surprisingly Hispanic related topics were either completely ignored or attacked. They attacked Gonzlaes, asking with Richardson had not asked for the Attorney Generals dismissal earlier. Immigration was not discussed, neither was the Hispanic population in general. Nothing substantive about small business, education, or taxes was debated, though Cuba was quickly discussed by Richardson, about looking towards democracy on the island.

In conclusion, the Democrat candidates seemed pretty equal with little difference between each candidate to another. They proved they were pushing the Dem agenda to the left. There were no winners, no automatic Presidential nominees and no big range of ideas.

Our favorite line in the debate was in post interviews of the candidates. Chris Matthews asked Gravel "Where have you been for 35 years sir?", Gravel in a very animated rant said, “I have been hiding under a rock!”

Giuliani Leads Presidential Candidates in Swing States

Our friends at PolitcalWire.com posted encouraging news for Republicans, a fellow GOP is ahead of all other White House hopefuls in key swing states

According to the latest Quinnipiac Swing State Poll, former New York Mayor, Republican Republican Rudy Giuliani leads Senator Hillary Clinton (HRC) and all other Democrat candidates in some of the nations most competetive states, Florida (20% Hispanic population), Ohio (2.3% Hispanic Popultion), and Pennsylvania (4% Hispanic Popultion)

• In Florida, Giuliani leads Clinton, 49% to 41%.
• In Ohio, Giuliani leads Clinton, 46% to 41%.
• In Pennsylvania, Giuliani leads Clinton, 47% to 43%.

Key finding: Al Gore is the strongest Democrat against Republican challengers in most swing state match ups.

Florida primaries:

• Democrats: Clinton 36%, Gore 15%, Obama 13%, Edwards 11%
• Republicans: Giuliani 38%, McCain 15%, Romney 7%, Gingrich 6%, Thompson 5%

Ohio primaries:

• Democrats: Clinton 37%, Edwards 17%, Obama 14%, Gore 11%
• Republicans: Giuliani 23%, McCain 21%, Gingrich 9%, Thompson 8%, Romney 6%

Pennsylvania primaries:

• Democrats: Clinton 36%, Gore 14%, Obama 14%, Edwards 13%
• Republicans: Giuliani 29%, McCain 17%, Gingrich 10%, Thompson 6%, Romney 5%.

Hispanics becoming electoral force

Gebe Martinez, a local journalist, wrote an article for Politico.com about the power of the Hispanic electorate.

The article highlights the growing Hispanic populations of states like Illinois with the 10th largest Latino population in the country. the state has an estimated 1.8 million Hispanics, with 667,000 elgible Hispanic voters.

Congressional districts like the one of Rep. Dennis Hastert, former

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives whose district has the largest population of Hispanic eligible voters, close to 11%, outside of Chicago.Illinois chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly recently hosted the state's convention (pictured). At the event Rep. Hastert asserted that he knew in the near future a Hispanic would represent his district.

In the article Martinez interviews, Linda Chapa LaVia, a moderate Democrat, freshman state representative in Illinois. The state rep says:

Latinos are not automatic Democrats, she cautioned. Whoever addresses Latinos' priorities from their perspective -- accessibility to health care, education and jobs -- "is going to win their support, Republican or Democrat," she said.

The article states some political realties of the next election. "In the next presidential election in 2008, increased Latino voter registrations could result in 9.5 million Latino votes, a 1.9 million vote increase over 2004."

Members of the GOP leadership understand these realties, such as National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.), a Native American whotstated, "You only lose when you refuse to engage."

McCain calls for Gonzales Resignation

Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain (R-AZ), today was the latest and most prominent Republican to call for the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

McCain deserted the White House and said “Out of loyalty to the president, he should obviously step down,” McCain said. “He’s not serving the president well. I reached that conclusion a long time ago. I just haven’t been asked.”

House Passes Iraq Time Line

Yesterday Congressional Democrats passed (218 - 208) a war-funding bill that included a time line for withdrawal. The bill, that provides $124 billion, sets March 31,2008 as the goal to withdraw most troops from Iraq.

The Senate will take up the legislation today, Thursday, and is likely to pass along party lines.

The bill is expected to reach President Bush on Tuesday. (ironically the 4th anniversary of when Bush stated combat operations were ending in front of a "mission accomplished" banner.) The The President has already stated he will veto any bill that includes a withdrawal deadline.

read the full story at politico.com

Hispanic Legislators Meet with Bush

For the first time in over 13 years Republican and Democrat Members of Congress united on an issue -- it was immigration reform. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference (Republican) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (Democrat) meet with the President and White House officials to discuss the passage of immigration legislation.

The Conference put out this press release:

At Meeting with President Bush, Congressional Hispanic Conference Pledges to Continue Push for Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON, DC - Members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference today met with President George W. Bush at the White House to discuss ongoing efforts on comprehensive immigration reform. Following the meeting, the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference and one of its key leaders on immigration issued the following statements:

"As Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, I believe that Congress and the President must work together to fix our broken immigration system and increase our security through a legal immigration process that is both controlled and fair. The Congressional Hispanic Conference is grateful for President Bush's longstanding support for reform, and we will continue to work toward a real solution which both honors our heritage as a nation of immigrants and upholds our values as a nation under the rule of law." - Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño, Chair (P.R.)

"We had a very good bipartisan meeting with President Bush today. The President fully supports comprehensive immigration reform and is demonstrating great leadership on this issue. Much work remains, but I am very hopeful that we can pass comprehensive immigration reform this year." -Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Fla.)

Leader McConnell's Comments After Attending Arguments in Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC

Leader McConnell just released this statement to bloggers regarding his time at the Supreme Court this morning. I thought you might find his insights of interest.

This morning I attended the oral arguments in Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Elections Commission at the Supreme Court. Wisconsin Right to Life challenged a provision prohibiting grassroots advocacy groups from running ads mentioning candidates for federal office during a “blackout” period before primary and general elections.

I submitted an Amicus Curiae brief supporting the First Amendment right of Wisconsin Right to Life and other grassroots advocacy groups to participate in political dialogue during the blackout period. Groups from across the ideological spectrum, from the –American Civil Liberties Union to the National Rifle Association – have weighed in to support the side of Wisconsin Right to Life and free speech.

I was encouraged by the active and insightful questions posed by the Justices. For example:

· Justice Alito recognized the massive breath of this provision during a presidential election year – namely a rolling ban from coast to coast during the year. Grassroots groups could never run a nationwide ad on CNN or ESPN as it would violate the law in at least one state.

· Justice Scalia stated the time when ads are most persuasive to Members is during the blackout period before elections. This is when the First Amendment right to petition the government is the most powerful. These ads are about changing the minds of Members, not changing the minds of voters.

It was a very interesting session and there was substantial skepticism as to the constitutionality of the law as applied to these issue ads. As Justice Kennedy asked, “isn’t that democracy?”

Hispanics Make Strong Connection with Politics and Religion

A new survey analyzes Hispanic's attitudes towards religion. The survey demonstrated a strong connection between Latino's religious views and political affiliations.

There is a distinct difference between Catholics and Evangelicals. With Catholics tending to shift left towards Democrats, while Evangelicals tend to sway Republican. Hispanics, who have traditionally worshiped in the Catholic church, are converting to the Evangelical religion at rate of 1 million U.S. Hispanics per year.

The bilingual survey reported the following:

The survey found 43 percent of eligible Hispanic voters consider themselves Democrats and 20 percent were Republican; 20 percent chose independent - the rest had no answer or picked another party. Among Catholic Hispanics, 48 percent said they were Democrats and 17 percent Republicans, while Hispanic evangelicals more narrowly favored Republicans, 37 percent to 32 percent.

On a volatile political topic, two-thirds of Hispanics surveyed said immigrants strengthen society. But the remainder did not, which the survey authors flagged as a sizable minority. One in three evangelical Hispanics said immigrants threaten society, the highest number among all the faith groups.

Making it Official!

Two Presidential hopefuls will make their campaigns for the U.S. Presidency official this week.

• John McCain will be in New Hampshire today where he will officially announce his run for the White House. He will make the announcement at 12 pm in Portsmouth, NH and hold a rally at 5 PM in Manchester, NH. (Technically this is second announcement if you count the "official announcement" he made at The Late Night Show with David Letterman, instead of going to CPAC.) Read the full story at CNN.
  
  
• Jim Gilmore, former Virginia Governor, will make his official announcement tomorrow on the web. According to a press release from the campaign, the Governor, who is currently in Iowa, on Thursday will do a live webcast from the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters making his bid for the Presidency official. Read more on Hotline On Call
  

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Giuliani: If Dems in the White House, expect a new 9/11

During a campaign stop on Tuesday, former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani said that if a Democrat was elected to the White House, America risked another terrorist attacked. But if citizens elected a Republican, especially someone like him, America would be better off. The current GOP front runner said:

“If any Republican is elected president —- and I think obviously I would be the best at this —- we will remain on offense and will anticipate what [the terrorists] will do and try to stop them before they do it.” - Giuliani.

Read more at politico.com

The Axis of Evil Alive and Well

Our friends at Babalu Blog reported that on Monday Raul Castro, Communist Cuba's acting president, voiced his strong support for Iran's its pursuit for peaceful nuclear activities. The younger Castro stated support for Iran was "among his country's fixed policies."

Raul's Concern For Iran:

Castro made the remark in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki before the latter wound up his week-long visit to Latin American states.

Cuba will stand shoulder to shoulder with Iran in the face of any threat, Castro stressed.

GOP Presidential Candidates & Immigration

A recent article from AP analyzes the immigration position of Presidential hopefuls from Giuliani to Tancredo. Get the dirt on what they think about immigration reform. (If you didn't know already!)

On another immigration topic, a slue of polls have recently come out showcasing American's attitudes toward immigrants and the dysfunctional legal system called immigration law. The polls leave anyone confused and sure to be used by opposite sides to make their case.

One article - Immigration Issues Nag at GOP Candidates, demonstrates support for a bath to citizenship for illegal immigrants:

An overwhelming 77 to 21 percent, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp., poll this month found that people supported letting illegal immigrants living in the United States for several years to remain and apply for U.S. citizenship if they have a job and pay back taxes.

While another poll released today by UPI show a stricter view on immigrants: ( UPI: Enforce Immigration Laws)

Nearly 60 percent of UPI-Zogby International poll participants said enforcement of current U.S. laws is the best way to fight illegal immigration.

and the immigration debate continues.....

MySpace en Espanol

MySpace is joining the Latino Revolution!! The popular internet social networking site today launched MySpace en Espanol. A beta version is now available at http://latino.myspace.com. This is part of a plan to test the cite in the US. and in Latin America as part of a global expansion. MySpace currently attracts over 90 million global unique visitors.

Currently MySpace is one of the top five most visited web cites visited by Hispanics . In March alone, MySpace attracted about 43% of US based Hispanic internet users have visited Myspace in March 2007 alone.

MySpace for Latin America is also available in its beta version at http://la.myspace.com. The cite is targeted to countries such as Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The company will being test with Brazil this summer and in January of 08 a test site - MySpace Mexico - targeting Mexico's population. The MySpace Mexico has already partnerned with EMI Records

For more few the MySpace press release

Huckabee calls Gonzales a distraction

According to a report by ABC news, former Arkansas Governor and GOP Presidential hopeful, Mike Huckabee said on Monday the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was a "major distraction" for President Bush and the GOP.

Huckabee continued to suggest that the Attorney General voluntarily step down.

Romney on Immigration; Paul on Trade

Our friends at Hotline picked up some interesting quotes from some presidential hopefuls from last nights news shows: up from last nights tv show interview

Presidential hopeful and the former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney was on"On The Record" and commented on immigration: "I would like a fence, and I'd like to also make sure that we have an employment verification system so that we know who's here legally and who's not, who is able to work and who's not." He also talked about his view on "Universal" Health Insurance.

Ron Paul was on CNN's Lou Dobbs and gave his two cents on Free Trade: "I'd get rid of NAFTA and WTO, for that matter. I certainly don't want a North American Union and I'm sick of these plans for this highway coming through here that's going to go from Mexico to Canada. That's not my idea of national sovereignty" (CNN, 4/23).

Gonzales: "I'm Not Going Anywhere!"

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales vowed to remain at his post as the head of the Justice Department. Armed with additional support from President Bush, Gonzales admitted "I've made mistakes, but I'm not stepping down."

Gonzales said at a press conference he would continue in his position "as long as I can continue to serve effectively," reported an AP article.

Standing By Your Man

President George W. Bush gave U.S. Attorney General Al Gonzales a vote of confidence today and said he knows that Gonzales did no wrong doing. "This is an honest, honorable man, in whom I have confidence," Bush said.

AP reported: "The president said that Gonzales' testimony before skeptical Judiciary Committee senators last week "increased my confidence" in his ability to lead the Justice Department. Separately, a White House spokeswoman said, "He's staying.""

Richardson on Gonzales

Democrat and Presidential hopeful, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is the latest candidate calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, the first Hispanic to hold the position.

According the the Washington Times, Inside the Beltway article, the Gov. said: You know, he's a fellow Hispanic. He came up from very humble means. He's an able guy. But it's obvious that he wasn't engaged in his department and couldn't answer [last week's] testimony in the Senate."

Diaz: Democrats Take Advantage Of Latinos

Rev. Ruben Diaz, a New York State Senator from the Bronx recently released an op-ed denouncing the Democratic Party and its 2008 presidential field for "ignoring the Hispanic community and the Hispanic vote."

Rev. Diaz, who also serves as the president of the New York Hispanic Clergy Coalition, who also critized Rev. Al Sharpton, states their is no excuse for candidates not to attend Hispanic forums, such as his National Action network conference. "They go to other communities and show respect," said Rev. Diaz. "The Hispanic community they take for granted." The Reverend commented that all Latinos "need to step up to that level of aggressive demand."

For the full oped to the New York Press

Hispanic Lawmakers Talk to the White House about Immigration

For the first time in almost 14 years Hispanic federal lawmakers from both sides of the aisle joined forces to take a united stand on immigration reform during a meeting with the White House.

"We believe it's important that we all work together if we really have the interest of 12 million and some immigrants in mind," said Luis Fortuno (R-PR), Chairman of the Republican Hispanic Conference.

Republicans left the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 1990's over ideological difference. The Republican lawmakers created the Congressional Hispanic Conference in 2003 for Members of Congress of Hispanic and Portuguese decent. Today both the caucus and conference met with the President and White House officials, and put aside political differences.

Hispanic Lawmakers Threaten PBS

Hispanic lawmakers are upset with PBS and they are taking action.....The group has been critical of the network since news leaked that the upcoming 14 hour PBS WWII documentary did not include the contributions of Hispanics. The fight escalated when the director's representative stated the film would not be re-edited, even though PBS hired a Latino film maker to help acquire additional footage for the movie.

Hispanic lawmakers are now threating to strip PBS funding if they don't remedy the situation. Read more on the politico.com

Also here is a video from YouTube on Hispanics in the military

Hispanics to Help Burns on WWII Documentary

PBS has come under intense scrutiny by Hispanic and Native American activists for not including the groups in the upcoming 14 hour documentary entitled - The War.

The film, under the helm of famed director Ken Burns, tells the story of American from four towns during WWII. The documentary does not mention any of the half million Latinos who fought in War World II.

Today PBS announced Hispanic filmmaker Hector Galan would assist Burns and add Hispanics to the series before the September release. Galan is a television producer from Texas

Hispanic Lobbyist Join Forces

A groups of prominent Hispanic Lobbyist have join forces --- in the hopes they will find strength in numbers and grow those numbers.

The group of 60 created the Hispanic Lobbyists Association, its goal is to increase networking opportunities and providing mentoring for young Latino up-and-comers.

According the the Cox News article:

Estuardo V. Rodriguez, a lobbyist for the Raben Group and president of the association, said that it hopes to mentor young talent and encourage offices on Capitol Hill to hire more Hispanics who could later move into lobbying. Traditionally, Hispanics have been underrepresented in the industry, several lobbyists said. The Raben Group represents many corporations and non-profit groups including The Home Depot, General Electric Company, XM Satellite Radio, and the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.

Rodriguez said the association plans to work with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other groups to create "a pipeline of resumes" of people of Hispanic backgrounds to send to different committees and Hill offices. "That's where we are going to get our future dues paying members," he said.

The group plans to have an event on Capitol Hill on April 25.

TN Democrat Controversial Remarks, says: "Hispanic Republican, I still don't know what that is"

A Nashville Tennessee State House Democrat, Ben West, said some racist remarks about an old oppponenent, Juan Borges a TN policeman and conservative Republican Hispanic.

The Puerto Rican Borges commented on the West's speech in the video below. Ben West made a sterotype saying that "There was a Hispanic, Republican policeman who ran against me. I still don't know what the hell that is." ~ Rep. Ben West, Jr.


see the entire Ben West comments:


You can contact Ben West at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/house/members/h60.htm

A No-No by Newt, apologizes in Espanol!

Recently possible GOP Presidential Hopeful Newt Gingrich seriously minced his words and implied that Spanish was the language of the "ghetto."

Gingrich, was served as Speaker of the House in the 1990s as part of the Republican Revolution, tapped a video message in Spanish, with English subtitles, and posted it on YouTube.

"I made some comments that I recognize caused a bad feeling within the Latino community. My word choice was poor but my point was simply this: In the United States it is important to speak the English language well in order to advance and have success," said the Georgia Republican Gingrich.