Texas Redistricting, Holder’s Speech, Pro Immigrant Billboards And More Latino Politics
Supreme Court and Justice Department on Collision Course Over Texas Redistricting and Minorities’ Voting Rights: The Supreme Court and the U.S. Department of Justice are on a political collision course over how Texas — and possibly other states — are drawing the congressional district lines affecting 2012 House races across the country, raising the prospect that the Roberts court will insert itself into partisan politics to a degree not seen since the 2000 Florida recount, which installed George W. Bush as the nation’s 43rd president.
AG Holder vows to protect voting rights: Attorney General Eric Holder vowed Tuesday to fully enforce civil rights protections in next year’s elections amid a flurry of activity by states to redraw political boundaries and impose requirements that could reduce voting by minorities who enthusiastically supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election.
Attorney General Eric Holder’s Speech On Voting Rights: Nearly half a century has passed since a national tragedy catapulted Lyndon Johnson to the Presidency, and at the same time `launched a new chapter in America’s story. Those of us who lived through those painful days will never forget LBJ’s first Presidential speech – to a nation in mourning, and in desperate need of strong and steady leadership. After quoting the 1961 inaugural address in which President Kennedy famously declared, “Let us begin,” President Johnson outlined the unfinished business of the civil rights agenda. Then – with three simple words – he gave voice to the goals of his Presidency, and issued a challenge that has echoed through the ages: “Let us continue.”
1965 voting rights act still dominates Texas electoral politics: The year was 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas called upon the U.S. Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act with the intent to end widespread voter discrimination against minorities and the poor.Almost 50 years later, how that law applies to Texas is one of the most important issues facing state lawmakers today.
Election 2012: Prospect for More Hispanic Senators Rises: There are good indications that more Hispanics will be elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Both Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, and Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, told HispanicBusiness magazine they believe Hispanics from Texas and New Mexico could be elected.
New Poll Suggests Latino Voters See ‘Hostile’ GOP: The overwhelming majority of Latino voters believe that the Republican Party ignores them or is outright “hostile,” and that nominating Hispanic Sen. Marco Rubio as a vice presidential candidate might do little to change it, according to a national poll released Monday.
Gingrich Going All Out For The Latino Vote?: Gingrich has hired Jose Mallea, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s former campaign chief, to be his Florida campaign director, according to The Miami Herald. Mallea was behind the Tea Party favorite’s victory in the 2010 Senate elections.
Newt Gingrich’s Past Immigration Statements Shed Light On His Current Positions: Gingrich’s position in 2006 doesn’t necessarily jibe with the statements he has made during the Republican presidential debates, many of which have prompted his opponents to brand him as a supporter of some type of amnesty. But the truth of the matter is that those debates have left many questions unanswered about the immigration reform policies he would pursue as president. A review of his past speeches and policy pronouncements offers more specifics, filling in details about how he would deal with the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
Marco Rubio cancels State Department meeting, says the Obama administration guilty of “ethnic politics”: Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday abruptly canceled a meeting with a high-level State Department official after learning that Democrats had described his vote Monday against the ambassador to El Salvador as an insult to the Puerto Ricans he represents in Florida.
States introduce more immigration laws, enact fewer: State lawmakers this year introduced more immigration-related bills than in 2010, but enacted fewer laws as state officials waited on the sidelines to see how court challenges to Arizona’s get-tough legislation played out, the National Conference of State Legislatures said on Tuesday.
ACLU sues over Wis. voter ID law: The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s voter ID law, charging that it deprives citizens of their right to vote.
Gov. Rick Scott Appoints Mel Martinez’s Son Orange Co. Commish, Hispanic Group Unhappy: In what pretty much everybody is calling a surprise, earlier today Gov. Rick Scott appointed John M. Martinez – the son of former U.S. Senator/Orange County Mayor Mel Martinez – as Orange County Commissioner for District 3.
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet introduces bill to give skilled immigrant students a pathway to legal status: Undocumented students who graduate high school and enroll in college in a science, technology or math program would be eligible for temporary student visas in an immigration overhaul bill introduced today by Sen. Michael Bennet.
Billboards show the human face of immigration: Religious and community leaders in North Carolina on Tuesday began a support campaign for immigrants by placing billboards in the state’s main cities.
Mayor: Let All New Haven Immigrants Vote: As the federal government moves to deport more immigrants, Mayor John DeStefano disclosed a plan on an opposite track: To lobby the state legislature to allow all New Haven’s immigrants, including non-citizens, to vote in local elections.
Hispanic Vote Becoming Key to Politics: Randy Falco, president and CEO of Univision Communications writes in Politico that Census numbers show every month 50,000 Hispanics reach voting age, and candidates ignore this group at their own peril.
