Apologies for the long period between this post and part one but computer service in the Amazonian capital is not what it should be. Here is the rest of my list of what Republicans need to do to reconnect with Latino voters.

5. Propose economic, education, and health care plan alternatives to the Democrats:

Just like the rest of Americans, Latinos said their number one concern this election was the economy and just like many Americans, Latinos may be willing to give big government solutions to our economy a try. If we do not offer them an alternative, then why wouldn’t they support big government? We need to be the small government party but that can’t be it. Opposing Democratic proposals that would make matters worse does not solve the original problem. We have to propose market-oriented solutions to our market-related problems. On education, Latinos in poorer communities would naturally support voucher programs to make sure their studious children get the best education possible. But vouchers alone are not an education program. Most Democrats oppose charter schools, we should support them. Most Democrats oppose competitive teacher pay, we should support it. Education is indeed the civil rights issue of our time and instead of just proposing to throw more money at the problem, Republicans who are well versed in real education solutions and work to implement them will undoubtedly earn the respect of Latino families. In regards to health care, I honestly do not know what Republicans can offer to counter Democratic proposals that would appeal to Latinos but I am sure people more knowledgeable than I on the subject can figure it out.

6. Do not make border security about keeping Latinos out:

Latinos would be all for border security if they believed it was aimed at stopping terrorists from crossing the border and not another sign that Neo-Know Nothings do not want them here. If the point is to protect the US from border from Middle-Eastern terrorists who want to attack our country, then we would pay more attention to the Canadian border since twice as many Middle Easterners enter the U.S. illegally through Canada than through Mexico. Building a wall on the Mexican border won’t stop terrorists from entering the United States, it won’t even stop Mexicans. If you build a 10 foot wall you will get a lot of 11 foot ladders. Walls don’t work- we should know this having read about Jericho, the Great Wall of China, and the Berlin Wall. Walls are just a sign of weakness in an oppressive regime and the United States is certainly not weak or oppressive. We clearly do need more border security. Putting military on both borders and ramping up the Coast Guard would be a great idea. Let’s always remember though that all of us not belonging to a Native American tribe are ancestors of people who came to this country looking for freedom and economic opportunity. This is exactly what the vast majority of immigrants, even the illegal ones, come here for. Shouldn’t we admire people who risk their lives for the American Dream? I’m not condoning law breaking but anyone who loves this country could understand why so many hard working, otherwise law-abiding, people would risk so much to get in.

Let’s also be pragmatic and face reality, our economy needs the inexpensive labor and our party cannot afford to rile the Latinos who are here legally by making it look we will are doing whatever possible to make sure more do not settle in the U.S. If we really want to stop illegal immigration, we need to make the legal immigration process actually fit reality. Cut out the pointless bureaucratic mess, make sure families are not broken up, punish smugglers with larger fines and longer prison sentences, match those who wait in line with the U.S. employers that need them, and put troops (not walls) on the border to convince those on the other side it’s better to wait their turn. President Bush has said that the failure to pass immigration reform is one of his greatest regrets. It is entirely plausible that if Republicans had helped Bush pass McCain’s immigration reform in 2006 or 2007, then Latinos would have supported McCain in large numbers in key states and we would have a different president-elect.

7. Run as the Government Reform Party:

Many Latinos have an innate distrust of government, probably because of their experiences in other countries that led them to move to the United States in the first place. In their eyes, politicians are guilty of corruption until proven innocent. People like Tom DeLay and Ted Stevens on the national news did everything possible to obliterate any anti-corruption image the Republicans gained during the Clinton Administration. We need to get that image back and I am pretty sure the Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress will give us plenty of opportunity to rally against corruption and wasteful government spending. We didn’t do a good job this election of convincing people that Washington was what was broken and incapable of fixing the rest of the country, so now we must try to rally against what ails Washington as the minority party.

8. Recruit more Latino candidates:

When it comes to the Cuban-American community, Republicans have done an excellent job of this. Republican Senator Mel Martinez, Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Mario Diaz-Balart, and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez are all Cuban-Americans. Normally, I wouldn’t be complaining about this considering I myself am Cuban-American, but we need to do a better job at recruiting and promoting non-Cuban-American Latinos. The only prominent Latino Republican in the past eight years I can think of is Alberto Gonzalez and that is not comforting. One promising development is that the Governor-Elect of Puerto Rico is a Republican. Yet most Puerto Rican and Mexican-American leaders loyally support the Democrats, and while Republicans can make inroads to them, we shouldn’t count on it. This is why we need to connect with the growing Colombian-American and Venezuelan-American communities. These communities are naturally conservative and like the pro-Colombian, anti-Chavez stances taken by Republicans. Many Colombian-Americans and Venezuelan-Americans have had impressive business successes in the U.S. It makes perfect sense to bring them to the table and earn their loyalty now, not just by asking for their support but by giving them ours.

9. Kick the bigots out:

When the new Congress convenes in January, nothing will fill my heart with more glee than knowing Tom Tancredo will not be there. This is personal, I admit, but Tancredo called my hometown a third world country. When pushed to explain why exactly a world-class city like Miami is a third world country in his eyes, Tancredo cited the fact that many Miamians have the audacity to speak Spanish in public. Tancredo is exactly the type of person we do not want representing our party. McCain described Tancredo’s definition of what makes someone American as beyond his realm of thinking. Anyone who looks down on the Latino Community, anyone who fear mongers about Latino influence on American culture and Latinos “taking over our country,” anyone who thinks the name George makes someone more American than the name Jorge, should not feel welcome in our party. I am all about inclusiveness but we cannot really be inclusive as long as we have racists in our ranks. I know Democrats have their fair share, the fact that a former KKK leader has long been one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate says a lot. I know the vast majority of Republicans are not anti-Latino, but we cannot nominate a single anti-Latino candidate anywhere. It doesn’t matter if we run them in California or Idaho, Democrats will make sure everyone knows we are running a bigot, and we are better than that.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that I am a life-long Republican, raised in a Republican household, who almost tore up his Republican Party membership card in 2006 because of the immigration debates. My family came to this country as exiles, not immigrants, so normal immigration policies didn’t apply to them, but we all were still empathetic to the needs of immigrants. It wasn’t that many Republicans were arguing against a bill that was far from perfect. It was the way they were arguing against it. It was their tone. It was the not too subtle way they talked about my Latino community, about my family, as if we were somehow different from other Americans. I almost walked away from the party because I was ashamed at how far it had walked away from being the party of Lincoln. I’m pretty sure Log Cabin Republicans felt the same way during the debate to constitutionally ban gay marriage. If the policies hurt, the rhetoric was even more painful. I am absolutely positive true Republicans do not disdain the Latino community and recognize the importance of bringing more Latinos into the Republican tent. We as a party must recognize our mistakes, correct them, and reach out to Latinos because it is the right thing to do and because we need their support to do the right thing for all Americans.

Last 5 posts by Abel S. Delgado

• What Iranian Protestors Can Teach Us About Being American - June 24th, 2009
• Giving Democrats a Taste of Their Own Medicine - June 16th, 2009
• Lessons from Across the Pond - June 7th, 2009
• On Judge Sotomayor and Racial Politics - May 30th, 2009
• Obama’s Strategy for Defeating Republicans: Divide and Conquer - May 17th, 2009