Battle For Mari Carmen Aponte Shows Menendez Has Muscle
By Emilio C. Sanchez, Voxxi
Leading the fight has been Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who finally convinced Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to work with him behind the scenes to support the Washington lawyer and Latino activist, a recess nominee of President Barack Obama who served as ambassador in San Salvador from September 2010 to December 2011.
Aside from Menendez’s influence and heavy pressure from different Latino groups, Rubio realized that his original blocking of her appointment last December — Republicans objected to her outspoken opinions on gay rights and her relationship with an old boyfriend who allegedly worked for Cuba’s spy agency — didn’t make sense. It also probably dawned on him that, in fact, continuing the filibuster could cause quite a bit of controversy for a young politician looking to position himself as a new Hispanic icon.
The main liability for Sen. Rubio picking a fight against Aponte was clearly in his home state of Florida, with close of 700,000 puertorriquenos living and voting in Central Florida. The cost of blocking Aponte could have been multiplied for Sen. Rubio — who obviously has national aspirations — not only in Florida but also in the Northeast states where the Boricua vote counts (New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania).
In contrast to Rubio’s original heavy opposition, Sen. Menendez gave his full support to Aponte from the beginning. Menendez persuaded his Democrat colleagues in the Senate and the White House to maintain the vigil for Aponte as a show of strength of the Latino leadership.
The maneuvering of forces proved to be good strategy for Menendez.
With Aponte’s confirmation Thursday, Menendez has not only proven that he has enormous influence in Washington, but that he can be seen as the champion of the Latino rights and issues.
And the most influential Hispanic politician in Washington.
“Today’s vote is a testament to the value of perseverance, and a reminder that our national security must be bigger than politics and that Congress can still do the right thing,” Obama said in a statement yesterday. “I look forward to continuing to work with Ambassador Aponte to build on our partnership with the people of El Salvador.”
In a statement after the vote, Rubio said the administration had addressed his concerns about Western Hemisphere policy — concerns he had said prompted his vote against Aponte in December — and that he expected Aponte to “serve our nation well in El Salvador.”
“This is welcome news for Mari Carmen Aponte, for the Hispanic community, and more importantly, for the United State’s interests in Latin America,” said Senator Menendez in a statement.
“For over six months, our Embassy in San Salvador has been without its leader, sending the wrong message to the government and people of El Salvador, and to the region as a whole. Mari Carmen Aponte is a respected American diplomat whose career in the public service fell prey to partisan politics.”
During her 15 months, “she was really an exemplary nominee on whom the Puerto Rican community and the Hispanics in general can feel proud,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday.
This article first appeared in Voxxi.
Emilio is a renowned editor of EFE News Agency with a successful track record in Spain, Brussels, Washington and Miami that spans over 25 years. Named recently as one of “Florida’s Hispanic Leaders” by Governor Rick Scott, Emilio has extensive media experience in the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets. He is a frequent guest on U.S., Latin American and Spanish television and radio programs such as Univision’s “Al Punto con Jorge Ramos,” “Andres Oppenheimer Presenta,” and CNN En Español. He co-authored the book “Arriortúa. Superlópez y la guerra oculta entre General Motors y Volkswagen,” published by Ediciones Temas de Hoy.
[Photo by United States Department of State]