Why A New Texas Republicano Matters

Texas State Representative Aaron Peña just switched parties this week, from Democrat to Republican, conveniently a month after his mostly-Democratic constituency re-elected him after eight years of service to them. Peña hails from Edinburg, which is along the Texas-Mexico border, and a region that has voted Democrat for a long, long time.

His switch means a lot of things to people in Texas — Republicans in that state now have a supermajority and so can pass whatever type of legislation they want. Some examples of anti-Latino legislation that’s on the table are SB 1070-like anti-immigration/brown people bills, and that little matter of redrawing the congressional districts for the next decade (gerrymandering anyone?). But as I touched on yesterday, Peña’s switch is indicative if a bigger trend in national politics that’s extremely alarming considering the GOP’s increasingly anti-Latino stance: Republicans are more welcoming of Latino politicos than Democrats are.

There are tons of examples. Susana Martinez, the first Latina governor and governor-elect of New Mexico, basically said she switched parties after being approached by Republicans. Brian Sandoval, Nevada’s new governor, probably had something similar happen. President Barack Obama is switching up his staffing for next year — and not thinking about bringing in any Latinos.

Peña’s party change, along with a seeming unwillingness by Democrats to back Latino candidates, spells disaster for Latinos across the country. I don’t care if you think SB 1070 is a good law or not, are you sure they’re not going to stop your family if you drive through? I’m pretty sure at least some people in my family wouldn’t pass the “reasonably suspicious” sniff test. Democrats need to step up the plate and do the same thing the Republicans seem to be doing — seeking out great candidates, backing them with power and financing and bringing them into the party in a real way.

Because quite frankly, it scares me to think that my yet-to-be-born children will have to live in a world where they have to constantly prove that they belong.