It's common knowledge that, lurking beneath the surface in certain quarters of the Republican Party, lies some of the darker aspects of human nature: homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and racism. Usually, expressions of these sentiments are coded so that they don't just jump out at non-bigoted people and scream "Republicans are bigots!" In this case, however, it can't get any clearer.
...The chairman of Bernalillo County Republicans argued that the Latino emphasis on hard work and family values, plus the Catholic church's opposition to abortion, made the community naturally conservative.He offered another, blunter, reason why he believed John McCain would do well in New Mexico.
"The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors," he said. "African-Americans came here as slaves.
"Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won't vote for a black president."
So there you have it, according to the GOP's Bernalillo, New Mexico Chairman, Fernando de Baca. Sadly, there are people like this in our country, even in positions of authority in one of our major political parties. Even sadder, I strongly doubt that this guy will be booted out of the Republican Party; most likely, he will simply be told to be careful to keep his racism out of the public eye from now on. Of course, that's not acceptable; if the Republicans have an ounce of decency, they will condemn de Baca immediately, boot him out of his position in the party, etc. How many of you are holding your breaths waiting for THAT to happen?
On a happier note, de Baca's not just a bigot, he's also an idiot (those two don't always go together) and overwhelmingly wrong. According to the BBC reporter:
Virtually all of the Hispanic voters I spoke to told me they were supporting Obama.
Ha, take that! Also, SurveyUSA indicates that 69% of New Mexico Latinos are planning to vote for Barack Obama, while just 28% are planning to vote for John McCain.
Gee, what happened to the "conquerers" not voting for the "slaves" and all? Also, I wonder if de Baca believes that whites shouldn't vote for Hispanics, since New Mexico was conquered from Mexico by the United States? Hmmmm...logic for bigots? What a jackass.
P.S. Hopefully, after they hear these remarks, those 28% of New Mexico Hispanics currently leaning towards McCain will make a point of voting for Obama just to show de Baca that he is wrong about their community.
does he not know that being hispanic has nothing to do with your skin color?
technically i am hispanic because my grandfather was puerto rican, but i'm painfully white...
and since not all blacks are african-american, how does he explain that?
my best friend is haitian, tho born in america and she is offended when called african-american cuz she's not.
it boggles the mind.
I told him that they were going to vote for Obama because the GOP has spent the last 4 years attacking Latinos. When you turn a group into your scapegoat, they have a tendency to not like it.
Also, and this is where the GOP's fatal strategic mistake occurred, the most bigoted segment of the Latino community are first generation immigrants--the same people they have demonized and the ones who can't vote! Second and third generation Latino's are less racists, and depending on the area, many actually identify with the African Americans experience. In Oakland, for example, Latino teenagers in the early 90s talked about Jesse Jackson with reverence.
Finally, Baca belongs to a strange conservative group of Latinos in the South West who have a strong dislike for Mexico and Mexicans. They seem themselves as "Spaniards" and thus, as "white." They stress, for this reason, the word "Hispanic," since they believe it represents their European ancestry. And these people are part of the reason why West of the Mississippi most Hispanics make a point to call themselves Latinos, to distance themselves from this group.