Did Obama Make False Promises to the Hispanic Community?
Although President Obama won 67% of the Hispanic vote and that Hispanic margin made the difference in several swing states many are questioning if he will keep his promises to the Hispanic community. Obama promised to find the best people to fill key positions in his administration and stated that there were enough qualified Latino candidates that he would be able to fill jobs proportionally to their representation in the population.
A recent article in Hispanic Business by Neil H. Simon has created controversy by stating that Obama “set a record with the number of Hispanic appointments” he has made. First of all, it misrepresented that his pre-election meetings with Congressional Hispanic leaders were congenial. It has been widely reported from many sources that Obama’s relations with Hispanic elected officials have been strained at best since his campaign began.
Prior to the election many believed Obama would place at least one Hispanic in his inner circle of national security. The nomination of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary is now being more seriously questioned as a gimmick. Clearly Obama’s vetting team knew that Richardson was under severe scrutiny by Federal investigators for unethical donations from contractors which would in all likelihood have barred his confirmation.
The nomination of Congresswoman Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary now appears to be in trouble because her husband has tax troubles with the California state taxes. The Obama agenda clearly includes furthering the power and influence of the labor movement in the United States which is currently at a historic low point. Was his appeasement of unions rather than minority representation his goal in appointing Solis? The least represented group in labor union membership is Hispanic women. Was her appointment meant to help labor unions more successfully recruit Hispanic women?
With no first tier level appointees and possibly only one second level appointee, Senator Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior, surviving confirmation one wonders if the prediction of Executive Director Brent Wilkes of the League of United Latin American Citizens that if Obama did not improve on the number of Hispanics in the administration over that of the Clinton administration specifically meaning at least three major appointments that there would be “trouble in the community”.
One of the fastest growing constituencies among Hispanics are small business owners. The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce which is representative of their interests in January called upon the Obama administration to be receptive to their message. One of Obama’s campaign pledges had been to be supportive to the development of minority owned business. Three major requests from Hispanic business have been ignored
Preserve the right of American workers to vote in secret ballot and oppose the Employment Free Choice Act.
Revise the enacted rule requiring use of E-Verify by federal contractors, and disengage from the federal appeal of the existing injunction against the misguided Social Security. ( Use of E-Verify remains mandatory by contractors to Federally funded projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009)
Encouraging passage of free trade agreements with more Latin American countries and specifically the Columbian Free Trade agreement which has been blocked by Democrats.
Syndicated radio host and CNN commentator Roland Martin recently noted that while the media is under scrutiny to have diversity in the newsroom that same rule does seem to apply to government spokesman for the many departments of the Federal government so far under the Obama administration. According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, Hispanics currently make up less than 4% of senior executive level positions in the Federal government while making up 15% of the population.
The controversial Hispanic Business article quoted LULAC Executive Wilkes remarks that the Department of Education had no senior level Hispanic and basically no Hispanic women. This seems astounding when one considers that the national Hispanic drop out rate from high school remains at 50%.
Many Hispanics were understandably disappointed that Hillary Clinton did not get the nomination but were disturbed during the campaign by the mockery and lack of disrespect that now President Obama showed the New York Senator. To ease their concerns, the Obama campaign produced extraordinary rhetoric and promise of inclusiveness to Hispanic voters. Mr. Obama was correct in saying that there are enough potential Hispanic candidates who are qualified to hold senior positions in government. He has no excuse for the current lack of Hispanic representation in his senior staff and lack of attention to the needs of Hispanic business.
Hispanics were repulsed from the Republican party by the inane anti-immigration sentiment expressed by Congressman Tancredo and others in the last election. In the author’s opinion a significant portion of the Hispanic vote for Obama really represented a negative vote against the Republicans rather than a positive vote for Obama. The election of Michael Steele as Republican National Committee Chairman provides a new opportunity for Republicans to re-establish communication with and address issues of concern to Hispanics. The best future for the Hispanic community in the United States is not consistent with blind allegiance to a Democratic party who feels it does not have to live up to its promises.
Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in 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.
