Latinos in Congress: Diverse, Yet Bundled Together

Interesting piece in the Houston Chronicle about the balance of Latino numbers and power in the US congress. It’s thorough enough: there are more Latinos in congress today than there were ten years ago, and that’s a good thing.

There are 26 Latinos members of congress; in 1991 there were 19. But it’s one less than in the past two years, when there were 27. I’m not sure what to make of that last number. That’s what, almost a 4 percent decrease? But it’s still only one seat, if you can call a seat in congress “only one.”

All told there are 17 democrats and 7 republicans, and that’s a significant split (I was going to say note-worthy split, but that sounded too wonkish, and we don’t want to sound wonkish at News Taco).  It’s a split that sets-up a note-worthy game board. The 26 stand together on the Latino squares, but on opposite sides of particular issues. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., with the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute are both waving the “we’re American’s first” flag, as well they should. They anticipate clashes, I’m sure, but they’re civil about it, like in-laws at a quinceañera.

It’s become de rigueur among journalists and opinionators, though, to point out the split on the immigration issue among Latino lawmakers: like rubber-necking at the fender-bender.

The Chronicle piece takes a shallow dive in that puddle;  it highlights specific splits among some of the newest members of congress on issues like the Dream Act and Border Security.

I’m just wondering, what do the 26 Latinos think about arms control, the deficit, or the reduction in force in Afghanistan? What good does it do to be 26 strong if legacy media keeps you huddled together in a corner?