The GOP’s Lady Problems
From NBCLatino:
Women do care about jobs and the economy. That’s actually why the GOP lost women voters when they went retrograde and spent political capital railing against contraception and reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. That’s how we ended up here.
Republicans’ too-sharp pivot from contraception to the economy reveals they don’t understand— or naively hope voters ignore— that choosing when to have a child, or how many to have, greatly impacts a woman’s participation in the workforce, and her family’s bottom line. But there is no rhetorical turn that can free Republicans from the reality that they have a problem — a problem so big that one poll of swing state voters now shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by as much as 18 points among women.
Besides, even if Republicans can free themselves from talk of defunding Planned Parenthood, what do they have to pivot to? A Republican Governor who just overturned his state’s Equal Pay Enforcement Act? A budget plan that privatizes Medicare and slashes Medicaid? A Republican-lead effort to kill the Fair Paycheck Act? Or is it the bold and impassioned leadership of a front runner who is too timid to stand up to a self-proclaimed entertainer when he likens women to sluts?
Read the full article here.
Why is no one talking about gun control?
From NBCLatino:
Even in the wake of the Arizona shootings — what should have been a pinnacle of support for restrictionist measures — Americans remained split on gun control: 46 percent said laws should be made more strict, 38 percent said they should be “kept as is” and 13 percent said they should be less strict. In fact, since 1994, the number of Americans who believe gun control laws should be strengthened has decreased by 13 percent.
Read the full piece here.
Nostalgic for Super Tuesday 2008
From my latest piece for NBCLatino.com:
Many of the states that held primaries on Super Tuesday 2008 boasted large Hispanic electorates: Arizona, Colorado, California, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York. The Clinton and Obama campaigns, along with third party groups, led efforts that resulted in a surge in new citizenship and voter registration. And then, those electorates delivered. In New Mexico, Latino voters comprised 35 percent of all turnout, in California 30 percent, in Illinois 17percent. Perhaps more impressive: high turnout was driven by a generation of new and young voters. More than one in five Hispanic Super Tuesday voters were 17 to 29, and more than half of all Hispanic voters were under 45. Super Tuesday, meet Mega Martes.
Read the full article here.
Romney, In Bad Company
From my new NBCLatino piece:
Romney believes that he can call the DREAM Act a “handout” and sell Draconian immigration laws to those of us who are citizens by telling us that they only affect those of us who are not. He claims that he’s pro-legal immigration, just anti-illegal immigration, as though that clarifies the issue. What Romney doesn’t realize is that even those Latinos who are American-born or naturalized citizens often come from mixed-status families, learn in mixed-status classrooms, and live in mixed-status communities. For us, the “undocumented” aren’t anonymous; they are people we know and love. For us, the Wilsons, Babeaus, Arpaios and Kobachs of the world aren’t brave problem solvers. They are simply put, the worst kind of company one could keep.
Read the full piece here.
Fotos: “Power Play” at CPAC 2012
From left to right: Me, Grover Norquist, Bettina. We're all smiles here, but I gave him the business during our interview.
Bettina and I interviewing Al Cardenas, President of the American Conservative Union. Note my "tough" pose.
My Interview with Best Actor Oscar Nominee Demián Bichir
From NBCLatino:
“I’m the one whose been always moving, moving, moving a lot,” Demián Bichir tells NBC Latino of his decision to leave Mexico and pursue acting in the United States. “Ever since I was a kid I couldn’t stand still. They used to call me “Papa de Perro.”
Bichir may be driven by that frenetic energy, but in his work, that drive is channeled into serious, deliberate roles ranging from the most power-hungry to the most powerless. On the big screen, the 48-year-old actor is best known for his portrayal of Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s Che, and on the small screen, for his role as a drug kingpin on the Showtime series Weeds.
But it is a less known work for which Bichir has received an Oscar nod for Best Actor.A Better Life follows an undocumented worker, Carlos Gallindo (Bichir), who struggles to navigate America while providing for his son, Luis (José Julián). If Bichir wins, he will be the first Latino to win an Academy Award for Best Actor since José Ferrer won for Cyrano de Bergerac in 1950.
Read the full article here.
Mitt’s Mexicanaissance
From my new NBCLatino.com piece:
Has Mitt Romney found his inner-Mexican? At last night’s Republican debate, as Romney and fellow front-runner Newt Gingrich sparred over immigration, Romney found refuge in his roots. “I’m not anti-immigrant,” Romney fired back against Gingrich. “My father was born in Mexico.”
Just the day before, at a candidates’ forum, Univision’s Jorge Ramos asked Romney if he is Mexican-American. “Could you be the first Hispanic president?” Ramos probed.
“I would love to be able to convince people of that, particularly in a Florida primary,” Romney said, laughing. “But I think that might be disingenuous on my part. He [George Romney] was born of U.S. citizens who were living in Mexico at the time. He never spoke Spanish, nor did his parents. So I can’t claim that honor…. I don’t think people would think I was being honest with them if I said I was Mexican-American.”
Who ever thought we’d see the day when anti-DREAM Act, anti-path to citizenship, pro self-deportation Mitt Romney would publicly wish he could self-identify as part of la raza?
Read the full article here.
Are Animal-Act Circuses Bad for Kids?
A thought provoking op-ed in The Miami Herald (written by a friend) highlights the animal cruelty prevalent in circuses that feature animal acts:
Fear and deprivation are inherent in the training of circus animals. You will not see a circus animal act without sticks, whips, electric prods or bullhooks. Watch for them. They may not be used in public, but they work because the animals have learned, over and over again, what they feel like.
When circus owners and promoters speak of using “positive reinforcement,” they don’t mention that for food rewards to be effective an animal must be experiencing intense hunger. Experimental psychologists know this. Partly because of such training and partly because of neglect, water and food deprivation are common, and death and disease are rampant.
No wonder several countries, including Austria, Costa Rica and Israel, have banned animal acts in circuses, as have a growing number of U.S. cities. Corporate sponsors such as MasterCard, Visa, General Mills and Sears have withdrawn their support.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has been repeatedly cited by the USDA for physical harm to animals, inadequate housing, failure to provide veterinary care, failure to provide for inspection of animals and records, and unsafe handling practices, meaning unsafe for the public. Good for kids?
Full article here.
And… We’re Live! Power Play on Cristina Radio SiriusXM Channel 146
I’m happy to share my first piece of big news for 2012: I’m co-hosting a new radio show on SiriusXM. My co-host is the smart and funny Bettina Inclán, who was recently named Director of Hispanic Outreach for the RNC. Our show airs on the newly launched Cristina Channel, named for Latina icon Cristina Saralegui and run by National Latino Broadcasting. From the release:
A new generation of political commentators from opposite sides of the aisle will face off in Power Play. Two fresh voices on the political scene, Republican Bettina Inclán and Democrat Alicia Menendez, serve up a savvy combination of politics, pop culture and social issues with a Latino twist. By sharing their unique perspectives as young Latina political strategists in the world of campaigns and elections, they provide listeners insider access to the 2012 elections and beyond. In addition, Power Play will cover the Republican primaries including broadcasting from some of the key races.
If you have SiriusXM, you can catch us live Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 pmET and rebroadcast throughout the week. You can also find us online at SiriusXM.com.
As always, a special “thank you” to my mother who is the only person listening at the moment and probably also the only person reading this blog post. Love you, Jane! xxx
