Hispanics Disappointed No Top Job for Bill Richardson
The announcement of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security is a disappointment to the many Hispanics who voted for Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election. Given Mr. Obama’s stated goals for diversity and inclusion it would be reasonable to expect that one of the major cabinet posts would go to a well qualified Hispanic instead of the usual token Post Master General.
Governor Napolitano’s nomination is being hailed by the liberal press as showing sensitivity to the border states concerns. As governor she was one of the most vocal proponents of punishing businesses for hiring illegal aliens. On the one hand she presented herself as a friend to those sympathetic to Hispanic’s immigration concerns but on the other would be happy to see many small businesses owned by Hispanics stripped of their business licenses if they did not act as border enforcement agents in investigating all their employees. Salon.com reported yesterday, that the major reason for the Napolitano appointment is political payback for her early support of Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, America’s only Mexican-American governor, Bill Richardson, who took a political chance supporting Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton who has been the governor of a border state and most would say has much more experience on the national scene so far seems to have been passed over for the major cabinet positions. Bill Richardson in addition to serving as New Mexico’s Governor, has served in the United States Congress where he was Chairman of the Hispanic Congress, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating political prisoners release, chaired the Democratic Party in 2004, served as UN Ambassador and Energy Secretary.
If Hillary Clinton is selected as Secretary of State and Bill Richardson is passed over for a major Cabinet position then Mr. Obama will have broken a promise of inclusion to America’s Hispanic voters. Hispanic voters had expected Richardson to be named as Secretary of State or Head of Homeland Security not because he is Hispanic or because he supported Barack Obama but because he is the most qualified for the job.
Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served in the Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years.He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
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