Summary
Latino groups, as varied as the Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity and the National Council of La Raza, celebrated Bush's nomination of [Alberto Gonzales] for attorney general in November 2004. Despite his weak credentials and ideological righteousness, Gonzales was widely praised during the confirmation process and later defended by Latino groups.
The National Council of La Raza, which is currently calling for President-elect [Barack Obama] to nominate Latinos to his cabinet, had criticized President Bush for not bringing a Latino into his cabinet after the departure of conservative [Mel Martinez]. "We are very encouraged by the Gonzales nomination," declared NCLR. "We previously criticized the Bush administration for not having a Hispanic in the cabinet since the departure of former HUD secretary, now Senator-elect, Mel Martinez. We are pleased that one of the first acts since the president's reelection both rectifies that situation and marks an historic milestone for the Latino community."This idea that a Latino in high places is good for all Latinos persisted within the Latino community through Gonzales' sorry tenure as the country's chief defender of the Constitution. In March 2007, the Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity issued a media release in support of the beleaguered Gonzales. "On behalf of the nearly 20,000 members of the HAP Institute, we write to reject calls for the resignation of Attorney General Al Gonzales, and offer our full support for his long-term service to our president, our country, and the Hispanic community."See the full content of this document
Extract
Latinos for Latinos
Identity politics get results in terms of the increased presence of the groups being promoted. But the election of an African-American president may signal that it's time to leave identity politics behind when it comes to governance and embrace the politics of the common good.
Every four years Latino groups come together to demand that the incoming administration appoint Latinos to the cabinet and other high-level p...See the full content of this document
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