Morning NewsTaco
Monday August 20, 2012
Latino Voters Could Swing Election [INFOGRAPHIC] (IVN News): Latino voters could swing election results this November, and the data revealing this are pretty dramatic. The Center for American Progress has a fascinating infographic with the following commentary:
Latinos eye role in Iowa presidential campaigns (WCF Courrier): Latinos make up a small slice of the Iowa electorate, but they could play a big role in the 2012 election. With the Republican Party of Iowa making big gains in voter registration, Democrats and President Obama’s re-election campaign are looking for a boost from the small but growing Iowa Latino population.
People frustrated by demands of voter ID (USA Today): In Philadelphia, where voting rights activists say as many as 186,000 eligible voters don’t have IDs, labor unions, the NAACP and others have begun canvassing neighborhoods where the state’s data show the problem is most prevalent. Opponents have slammed the GOP-backed law as a partisan effort to drive down turnout among groups that tend to vote Democratic. They say the state has not provided any examples of voters misrepresenting themselves or deception at the polls in making their case.
Texas A.G. is positioned to become point man on historic challenge to voting law (Austin American-Statesman): With his signature on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, outlawed discriminatory election practices that had been adopted in many southern states including Texas. Now, almost half a century later, another Texan, Attorney General Greg Abbott, could find himself in a position to dismantle a key section of the historic act that he thinks is unfair.
McCain tells Mitt he needs more Latino votes out West (The Salt Lake Tribune): Large Latino populations in the Southwest present a rough road for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, warns Sen. John McCain, who stumbled on that same path in 2008. Those states “are challenging, and I think they’re challenging, obviously, due to the Hispanic disparity and support from the Hispanic voters,” McCain told The Salt Lake Tribune this week. “I think we’re going to have to convince a lot of Hispanics that jobs and opportunity can be created with a Romney administration, and we have our work cut out for us.”
Berkley to highlight effect of Ryan budget on Latinos (The Hill): Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) will release a report on Friday highlighting the impact of the Ryan budget on Latinos in Nevada, the first effort from a Senate campaign to directly examine the result of the plan on specific demographic groups.
Call for Spanish language political spending (Associated Press/U.S. News & World Report): Just a month after Forbes Magazine recognized the Hispanic television market as “the next media jackpot,” some are complaining that Hispanic media aren’t getting a fair share of attention from the political realm.
Former Texas Democrat runs as Hispanic Republican (Voxxi): Joel De Los Santos, a Republican candidate for Texas House District 39, is running in the right place, now. Two years ago, he ran as a Democrat and lost. After meeting a Republican activist at a gathering in South Texas, de los Santos came to realize he was a conservative, and began to see the Democrat Party in a different light. In this video, Joel — whose district covers Donna, Mercedes, Progreso, Weslaco, Alamo and San Juan — shares his thoughts on switching parties.
Why Are Some Undocumenteds Nervous About Obama’s Immigration Reform? (TIME): much uncertainty surrounds the President’s offer. First, while details released earlier this month about the program helped clarify some doubts about the application process, potential applicants have yet to see the questions they’d be asked. Second, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says people would be considered for the program if they haven’t been convicted of a felony or significant misdemeanor and do not otherwise pose a threat. But it’s unclear what officials mean by “significant” and a “threat,” so those who have had run-ins with the law are unsure whether to risk applying. Their hesitation is heightened by the caveat that applicants’ information would be shared with immigration enforcement in cases that involve serious crimes or fraud. Rights groups urge those with questionable cases to consult an attorney, but not everyone can afford one.
It’s an immigration winner (Los Angeles Times): Last week featured a rare moment of encouragement in the nation’s often tiresome and vindictive immigration debate: Thousands of young undocumented immigrants began applying for temporary permits that will allow them to live and work legally in the United States. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the result of a policy shift unveiled by the Obama administration in June, is a small but significant step that could help more than a million immigrant students and military veterans who were brought to this country illegally as children and who have lived in fear of deportation since.
Study: State’s Hispanic businesses growing, but still lag in key areas (Austin American-Statesman): Hispanic-owned businesses are a growing piece of the Texas economy, but they still lag behind mainstream businesses in revenue, employment and payroll size, according to a new University of Texas survey.
Ecuador says it’s open to dialogue with Britain in Assange case (Fox News Latino): Ecuador said it is open to dialogue with Britain if it first withdraws the “threat” of storming the Andean nation’s embassy in London to arrest the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, to whom Quito granted political asylum last week.
Nascar Seeks to Woo Latinos With Fox Deportes Agreement (New York Times): Nascar dads and Hispanics could be seen as being on opposite sides of the political fence, but that has not stopped Nascar from reaching an agreement with Fox Deportes, the Spanish-language cable sports channel, to broadcast 15 races starting in February.
2012 season of PGA Tour Latino America set to debut in Mexico (World Golf): The inaugural 2012 season of the PGA Tour Latino America will debut in Mexico with two new events, the Mundo Maya Open and the Monterrey Open. The Mundo Maya Open kicks off the season on Sept.3, 2012 in Merida, Mexico at the Yucatan Country Club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature design golf course
