| Yesterday, The Huffington Post reported that Lauro Garza, head of Somos Republicans, quit the Republican Party and left his position with the largest Latino Republican organization in Texas, due to the escalating anti-Latino rhetoric of the Republican Party.
Now, for any sane, rational person who watched the GOP debate last week and heard the Republican candidates tripping over each other to see who could use the word "illegals" more, or to anyone who watched the other GOP contenders attack Rick Perry's policies that help undocumented immigrants gain an education in Texas, this comes as no surprise. In fact, most of us probably wonder what took the dude so long.
But apparently it was a surprise to the Republicans.
From HuffPo:
"There is no place for Latinos in the Republican Party", Garza, who had identified as a Republican for 30 years, said in Spanish.
During his statement, Republican State Rep. Leo Berman stuck his hands over his ears and said, "I can't hear you, you're not speaking what I think should be the only legal language in Texas."
More from HuffPo:
Garza said he made his decision after Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain proposed building an electrified fence across the U.S.-Mexico border that could kill those crossing illegally. Cain also called for an armed military presence on the border and the use of real ammunition against immigrants.
"What Cain said contradicts the Constitution and shows how we were infiltrated by nativist ideas highly hostile towards Hispanics and immigrants," said Garza, who made his decision and spoke to The Huffington Post on Friday. "I am not going back to that dump until the party goes back to the principles held under Ronald Reagan."
Good luck with that, Lauro! Ronald Reagan was a known socialist -- he raised taxes eleven times during his administration. He also gave amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants. If someone with Ronald Reagan's record were on the ballot today, he'd be polling lower than Rick Santorum.
More from HuffPo:
Chris Elam, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas, told the Austin American-Statesman on Friday that state GOP leaders never discussed the idea of an electrified a border fence.
"Most Republicans I know are a little more thick-skinned" than to take offense and leave the party because of Cain's controversial remarks, Elam said.
Ok, so apparently Latino Republicans should just be so thick-skinned they could survive a run-in with Herman Cain's electric fence. Now that would take some thick skin.
Last HuffPo set-up:
Garza said it is not okay to discriminate based on race or ethnicity. "I was born here; I live here; and I speak perfect English. I look Latino because I am of Mexican origin, but I will not be discriminated against because of that."
When asked for comment, Republican State Rep. Debbie Riddle demanded to see Garza's papers, and began drawing up a bill to appropriate funds to hire a car to drive Garza back to Mexico, where Riddle thinks he belongs.
[Ed. Note: No, Berman and Riddle didn't say those things, or at least not to the press, or to us, on this instance. But they both do have a pretty extreme history of trying to pass legislation that does make Texas English-only, and demand immigration papers. It's sarcasm, but it's believable, which is sadder than it is funny.] |
